MSU Horticulture chair receives ASHS Outstanding Leadership and Administration Award
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EmailDr. Vance Baird, chair of MSU’s Department of Horticulture, was honored with the American Society for Horticultural Science’s Outstanding Leadership and Administration Award
Dr. Vance Baird, professor and chair of Michigan State University’s Department of Horticulture, was recently honored with the Outstanding Leadership and Administration Award from the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS).
ASHS bestows this recognition to one individual annually for “sustained outstanding and effective leadership and administration contributing to the progress of professional horticulture and having an impact at the regional or national level…with superior leadership and administration for the improvement of horticultural science.”
Baird has built a significant career dedicated to faculty and staff professional development, first at Clemson University and, for the past 15 years, at MSU’s Department of Horticulture. He is recognized as a passionate advocate and mentor, having guided 20 tenure-stream faculty members through promotion and/or tenure processes. His open and cordial relationship with faculty, staff and students contributes to an engaged, vocal and unified faculty. He is particularly appreciated for his commitment to initiatives promoting DEI, faculty recognition, student welfare and staff engagement.
Baird’s leadership is welcome and helpful in and beyond the department. He is on the Director’s Action Team for the legislatively mandated plant science funding initiative known as Project GREEEN. He has served on numerous college-wide search committees and other influential ad hoc committees that impact horticulture or MSU’s research and extension centers. Baird is also embedded within numerous horticulture industry boards in Michigan. He has consistently attended the annual ASHS meetings, served on multiple ASHS committees and was the administrative advisor to two USDA regional projects.
In addition to the typical duties of leading one of the largest horticulture departments in the country, Baird shouldered significant responsibilities as needed. These included serving as the grant coordinator for a large federal grant based primarily in Africa, serving on the MSU Institute of Agricultural Technology Directorate and overseeing administrative duties related to the MSU Student Organic Farm. He is the Director of the Plant Biotechnology Resource and Outreach Center.
Baird’s exemplary leadership, mentorship and transformative impact on horticultural science are highly regarded, as evidenced by the horticulture faculty’s request that he serve an additional five-year term as the department leader. This recognition from his peers is a testament to his dedication and a source of pride and support for his continued leadership.
