John Dole named Horticultural Science head

Dr. John Dole, a horticulturalist whose work focuses on greenhouse and field-cut flowers, has been named head of the North Carolina State University Department of Horticultural Science. He has served as interim head of the department since 2011.

Dole joined the Department of Horticultural Science in 2000 and was named the department’s Director of Graduate Programs in 2004. He came to N.C. State from Oklahoma State University. He joined the Oklahoma State faculty in 1989, the same year he earned a Ph.D. in horticulture from the University of Minnesota. Dole earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Michigan State University in 1984.

At N.C. State, Dole developed the only comprehensive research program on greenhouse and field-cut flowers in the United States, with work ranging from new crop development to postharvest handling and marketing. He serves as executive advisor for the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers and is a frequent speaker nationally and internationally on cut flowers. In addition, his research includes the physiology and handling of propagative plant materials and potted flowering plants, especially poinsettias.

Dole has published more than 64 journal articles, 20 book chapters and six books. He co-authored the definitive floriculture textbook, Floriculture Principles and Species. Other publications include more than 260 trade journal articles, fact sheets and manuals. Dole is a frequent speaker, averaging more than 14 presentations a year around the county and internationally. He teaches Greenhouse Management and Physiology of Flowering.