Louise Ferguson
Cooperative Extension Specialist Louise Ferguson has been named a fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Ferguson helps industry find ways to mechanize the harvest of table olives; She's also an expert in pistachios, figs, citrus, persimmons and pomegranates. (John Stumbos/UC Davis)

Ferguson named ASHS Fellow

Leadership programs benefit both participants and organization, she says

Louise Ferguson has been named a fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science and will be inducted into the organization’s 60th class of fellows at a ceremony Aug. 1. The award recognizes decades of leadership and, more recently, Ferguson’s efforts to build a leadership training program for younger members.

The recognition is “more than well-deserved and should have happened YEARS ago!” wrote ASHS Executive Director Michael Neff. ASHS fellows are elected “in recognition of outstanding contributions to the science, profession, or industry of horticulture,” he added.

“It is gratifying to be honored by one's peers,” said Ferguson, a professor of UC Cooperative Extension in the Department of Plant Sciences.

Under Ferguson’s guidance, the ASHS Leadership Academy began two years ago by offering online seminars to participants from all over the United States. “We’re training them to be leaders in our professional society, and also to be advocates for the society,” Ferguson said. The program pulls together the ASHS foundations of research, teaching and practice, which was capped earlier this year by a trip to Washington, D.C., to advocate in Congress for the passage of the 2023 Farm Bill Reauthorization. (H.R. 513 was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in January and referred to committees, where it remained as of this writing.)

The current second class of the Leadership Academy will graduate, and the third class will be inducted, at the ASHS annual meeting, coming July 31 to Aug. 4 in Orlando, Fla.

Leadership has been a lifetime passion

Leadership training is important to Ferguson because she didn’t get it early in her own career, she said. She wants to see the generation of new leaders coming up – as well as ASHS as a whole – to benefit from good preparation in this area, she added.

Ferguson has served as the society’s president and president-elect during the challenging days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has received other honors.

Media Resources

  • Trina Kleist, tkleist@ucdavis.edu, (530) 601-6846

Primary Category

Secondary Categories

Cooperative Extension

Tags