Dear colleagues,
Please help me welcome Bruce Crawford, director of Rutgers Gardens, to a new role as the State Program Leader in Public and Home Horticulture, beginning this Spring.
In his new role within the RCE Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bruce has been tasked with elevating home and public garden education in New Jersey through new educational programs, resources, and other statewide outreach activities.
Bruce has been an essential part of the Rutgers Gardens for the past 15 years, overseeing a number of important initiatives and collaborations.
Bruce has worked tirelessly to advance the Gardens. He has forged stronger ties to the American Public Garden Association that elevates Rutgers Gardens in a national effort to promote and improve access and programming in a range of public gardens. The milestone centennial celebration in 2016 and the garden’s designation as Horticulture Landmark from the American Society for Horticultural Science stand as significant achievements of Bruce’s tenure as director of the Rutgers Gardens. He fittingly was presented with the Rutgers Gardens Centennial Award of Distinction for his tireless commitment to the gardens.
Bruce was instrumental in the establishment of the Rutgers Gardens advisory board to assist in planning and donor development. He initiated the Gardens Party as a fundraising event that has grown in stature, in part because of the outstanding caliber of the recipients of the annual Hamilton Award, the horticulture award inaugurated in 2017 in honor of former Rutgers professor and gardens director Bruce “Doc” Hamilton.
Over the years, Bruce developed a strong summer student internship program that engages students from many different majors to work on a range of duties in the gardens and also serve as ambassadors to visitors. These interns, who receive 3 credits of summer course work, are able to enjoy this transformative experience, tuition-free, thanks to Bruce who worked tirelessly to cover the cost of tuition through donations.
For these and many other accomplishments, please join me in thanking Bruce for his wonderful devotion to Rutgers Gardens. We’re delighted that we are able to continue tapping into his unique skills in his new role that will greatly benefit RCE in its programming and outreach to a much broader constituency.
I’ll keep you informed on the search for a managing director who will oversee Rutgers Gardens’ ongoing development as a leading public garden in New Jersey and the region.
