09/29/2003

Associate Ag Dean Wins Top Honor in China's Hubei Province

AUBURN, Ala. — The Hubei province of the People’s Republic of China has presented Auburn University College of Agriculture Associate Dean Richard Guthrie its prestigious 2003 Chime Bell Award in recognition of the strong and mutually beneficial research, education and outreach partnership Guthrie has established between AU and the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences over the past 15 years.

Hubei Governor Luo Qinquan awarded Guthrie the honor during a Sept. 29 ceremony in Hubei’s capital city, Wuhan. The ceremony was part of a weeklong national celebration of the People’s Republic of China’s 54th anniversary.

Guthrie, a soil scientist who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Auburn and his doctorate from Cornell University in the 1960s, joined the faculty at Auburn in 1983 as agronomy and soils professor and department head. He served as acting dean of the College of Agriculture from 1985 until 1988, when he moved to his current position.

As coordinator of the college’s Office of International Agriculture (http://www.ag.auburn.edu/international/), Guthrie has emphasized the importance of bringing global perspectives and experiences to AU students and faculty and of connecting the citizens of Alabama with people and institutions around the world.

The AU connection with the Hubei agricultural school has resulted in the exchange of valuable ideas, science and technology. As a recent example of the partnership, the academy sent the AU Horticulture Department 18 varieties of winter-hardy citrus fruits and 100 ornamental plants that are native to China for research to determine whether these plants can be grown in Alabama.

Hubei gives the Chime Bell Award each year to individuals from other countries who have made exceptional contributions to and improved the lives of the people of Hubei. The award is named for Hubei’s most prized artifact: a 2400-year-old, 5000-pound set of 65 bronze bells unearthed in the province in 1978.

-30-

News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu

09/29/03

For immediate release