1 Roland Jay Stipes 1936- Roland J. Stipes was appointed Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Va. Tech) on November 13, 1967. He had come to Blacksburg after serving 2 Yzyears as Research Plant Pathologist at the U. S .D .A., A.R. S., Dutch Elm Disease Laboratory, Delaware, 0 hio. His initial assignment at Va. Tech was to conduct research on diseases of ornamental plants and landscape trees and on fungitoxicants in the pathogen-plant-soil continuum. He had a 3-way appointment in research ( 65% ), extension (25% ), and instruction (10% ). Thus, he was expected to develop and present educational programs on the cause and control of landscape tree diseases and to prepare and distribute publications on these topics. He was promoted to Associate Professor on July 1, 1974 and Professor on July 1, 1980. Stipes' initial instruction assignment was to teach Principles of Plant Disease Development which had been originated and taught previously by H.B. Couch. Stipes taught this course from 1968 to 1973. From 1974 to 1978 he taught Principles of Plant Disease Control. In 1979, this course was assigned to R. W. Tillman, but he later resigned, June 30, 1980, and Stipes taught it again from 1981 to 1983. In 1984, Stipes began developing courses on (a) Diseases of Landscape Trees, Ornamentals, and Turfgrasses and (b) Pesticide Usage. Throughout his tenure, Stipes was guest lecturer in several courses especially where tree diseases and pesticides were the topics.· He also chaired the departmental seminar for several quarters. After the University switched from the quarter to semester system, he taught Principles of Agricultural Chemistry, a course presented to two-year agriculture students. In 1995, he developed and taught two new courses, Plant Plagues and People, an undergraduate course offered University wide, and Pests and Stresses of Trees (co-listed as a forestry/entomology/plant pathology course). "Pests and Stresses'' survived and was taught annually through Stipes' tenure, "Plagues ..." apparently was taught only twice in 1995 and 1996. In addition to the courses noted above, Stipes taught numerous courses designated Independent Study in which one or two graduate students addressed specific topics and were guided through laboratory studies and literature reviews. He was advisor or co-advisor to 13 students for masters degrees and 9 for Ph. D.'s and served as committee member for many M. S. and. Ph.D. candidates. The research that Stipes undertook from 1965 to 1967 predicated his life-long career. At Delaware, Ohio, for two and a half years he was a Research Pathologist at the USDA-ARS Shade Tree Laboratory where he focused on the biology and fungicidal management of the Dutch elm disease. During those years he pioneered the injection technology which he continued to exploit and refine for the next 35 years at Va. Tech. A major accomplishment was to cooperate with the Ciba­ Geigy Co. to develop Alamo, by providing critical data to obtain a federal use label. He examined many fungicides and modes of application. Several graduate students explored particular aspects of fungicide application and uptake under Stipes guidance. The emphasis of Stipes research was upon landscape trees, many of which were centuries old and, consequently, irreplaceable. Thus, aside from pruning, chemotherapy proved to be the only management technique available. At gatherings of various tree owners, arboriculturists, groundskeepers, etc., he presented information under catchy titles such as, "Famous patients and 2 their illnesses", "Famous trees and their health problems", and "Trojan horses in Appalachian forests". He co-edited with R. J. Campana of the University of Maine a "Compendium of Elm Diseases", published in 1981 by the American Phytopathological Society. This compendium was a precendent breaker because the previous six compendia pertained to crops, namely, soybean, wheat, alfalfa, com, cotton and potato. Stipes co-authored with Campana twelve sections of the compendium and contributed 39 color photographs. According to Stipes, a second edition has been authorized. In response to complaints about dying pin oak branches and trees, a new disease, pin oak canker, caused by Endothia gyros a was found associated with the cankers. Philip P. Hunter (Ph. D. Diss. 1977) and David N. Appel (Ph.D. Diss. 1980), advisees of Stipes, studied factors affecting inoculation, colonized and canker development and concluded that water stress played a major role in disease development. Research on Endothia parasitica and E. gyrosa led Stipes and Martha K. Roane to assemble isolates of Endothea from all over the world and to make comparisons among them. Jessie Ann Micales (Ph. D. Diss. 1985) made a comprehensive morphologic and chemotaxonomicstudy of these isolates and concluded that the revision ofDiaporthales with respect to Endothia and Cryphonectria was correct. Stipes research on chestnut blight and Endothia ended after Micales completed and published her research. Since Stipes had both a research and extension appointment, specimens of tree diseases and injuries were frequently referred to him by the Plant Clinic. He recognized many tree diseases previously unreported in Virginia and identified many fungi new to Virginia; he reported with T. C. Davis of Auburn University 125 new fungal species associated with landscape trees. In this manner, dogwood anthracnose, caused by Discula destructiva, was found in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Stipes described control measures for this disease on trees in landscape situations in the Pest Management Guide: Home Grounds and Animals (Va. Coop. Ext. Publ. 456 - 018, rev. annually.). Shiitake mushroom production in Virginia was befraught with a plague of weed fungi which curtailed the growth of the subject fungus, Lentinus edodes. Stipes had a graduate student, Gonzalo G. Gruevara, investigate the problem. He found the primary weed fungi to be the Ascomycetes Graphostroma platystoma andEutypa spinosa. He also found these fungi to be sensitive to Arbotect 20S and Lignasan BLP, while L. edodes was not. He suggested that soaking logs in these fungicides prior to inoculation would extend shiitake production. However, neither was labeled for this procedure and it's practicality was never demonstrated. Several graduate students chose to research peanut diseases and were advised primarily by P. M. Phipps who was located at the Tidewater Research and Continuing Education Center in Suffolk. An on-campus advisor was needed and Stipes was frequently chosen as the co-advisor. As a result, Stipes was a frequent co-author of publications on peanut diseases although peanuts were not in his realm of proficiency. Students fitting in this category were Wade H. Elmer, Timothy B. Brenneman, Frisby D. Smith, Ramon M. Cu, and David B. Langston, Jr. It was apparent from the outset that Stipes would be an excellent extension specialist as he enjoyedinteracting with county agriculturalagents and their clientele. He especiallyenjoyed visiting estates, historical sites, parks and cities where old or valuable trees in carefullymaintained landscape situations showed symptoms of disease or abiotic stress. Gradually, he accrued a reputation such that he was sought after as a consultant and speaker nationwide. Some groups he spoke to include 3 Tidewater Professional Horticulture Conference; Mountain View Garden Club, Morgantown, W. Va.; International Union of Forestry Research Organizations, Portland, OR.; International Society of Arboriculture, Quebec, Canada; New River Symposium, Boone, N.C.; and Third International Elm Conference, Chicago, Ill. He was a consultant for New York Parks Department, U. S. Forest Service, Busch Gardens at Williamsburg, The Greenbrier Resort, W. Va.; California Department of Agriculture, City of Cincinnati, Hillwood Museum, Sweet Briar College, and many others. In addition, he routinely spoke at seminars, master gardeners' groups, gave disease control demonstrations, and prepared literature on specific diseases and landscape problems in general. He seemed to enjoy leading tree walks at Va Tech and in nearby cities. In essence, he was a highly respected credit to his profession and University. As a consequence, many honors were bestowed upon him. Stipes was active in the American Phytopathological Society wherein he served on several committees as shown below:· Parent society: 1972 - 74 Teaching Committee 1972 - 77 Forest Pathology Comm.; Vice-Chm. 1975, Chm. 1976, Immed. Past Chm. 1977. 1973 Teaching Comm. - Chm. of Sub-Comm. for Revision of International Plant Pathology Glossary 1974 Chm. of English- Spanish version of Glossary. Local Arrangements Comm., 1978 Meeting 1974 Resolutions Comm., Chm. Nominations - Elections Comm., Chm. 1978 - 82 Monographs and Reviews Comm. 1986 - 89 Meeting Site Selection Comm. 1986 - 89 Nominating Comm. 1986- 89 Membership Comm. 1987 - 89 Councilman for Potomac Div. 1988 - 90 Associate Editor, Phytopathology Potomac Division, APS: 1983 Awards Comm. 1983 - 84 V. Pres., Potomac Div. 1984 - 85 Pres. 1986 - 87 Meeting Planning Comm. 1995 Recipient, Distinguised Service Award. Stipes was also very active in the Virginia Academy of Science having served as Section of Botany and Section of Agriculture Chairman and Editor, and on the council for many years. 4 Many of his activities may be surmized from the list of publications complied below. C. W. Roane 2003 Graduate Student Advisees of R. J. Stipes M. S., Non - Thesis: Patterson, P.