Richard T. Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., will lead NC State University’s Department of Horticultural Science, beginning Oct. 12.
Olsen, a plant geneticist and two-time alumnus of NC State, has led the National Arboretum since 2015. He has overseen $15 million in federally funded research projects involving faculty in three states and managed more than 60 full-time employees and dozens of volunteers, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. In addition, he has coordinated $3.5 million in private, nonprofit funds from partner organizations.
His leadership experience includes serving as the acting assistant director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland, part of the Agricultural Research Service, from late 2014 to early 2015. From 2006 to 2015, Olsen was a research geneticist with the National Arboretum as part of the USDA Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit.
Olsen says he looks forward to returning to the familiar ground of NC State’s teaching, research and Extension programs, as well as the JC Raulston Arboretum, named for one of his mentors and the site where he first worked in a public garden.
“There are a lot of memories obviously, and to have the opportunity to give back at NC State is highly motivating,” Olsen says. “I wouldn’t have become director of the National Arboretum without the contributions and the training, education and mentorship of everyone at NC State.”
Olsen says he was energized by a recent tour of NC State’s new Plant Sciences Building, which has state-of-the-art research facilities. His goals include developing sources of support for horticultural research, teaching, plant breeding, industry partnerships and the JC Raulston Arboretum, which is part of the Department of Horticultural Science.
“I see the 21st century as the plant biology moment,” Olsen says. “Everything that has been invented — computers, computer science, statistics, engineering, robotics, lasers, artificial intelligence — all of these tools are attractive to a large portion of people who want to go into horticultural and agricultural careers. They’re going to be applied to plants to feed the world and to cultivate landscapes where people can thrive.”
Garey Fox, dean of NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, says that throughout his career, Olsen has demonstrated a “profound commitment to both plant science and public service.”
“We are incredibly excited for Dr. Olsen to bring his expansive vision to CALS and to build the national recognition of the Department of Horticultural Science. His unique blend of scientific rigor, leadership acumen and deep roots at NC State makes him the ideal leader to guide the department into its next chapter,” Fox says.
Olsen, who earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in horticultural science at NC State, recalls how receiving the Margaret Pittman Horticultural Science Scholarship as an undergraduate supported his studies.
“When I was a senior at NC State, I took out no more loans because I had enough scholarships, and that was a boon,” he says. “We want to look for ways to increase horticultural scholarships with support from private donors, industry and nonprofits.”
He hopes the ubiquitous nature of horticulture will appeal to a new generation of NC State students.
“For a lot of North Carolinians and Americans, when you get up in the morning, before you even leave home, you’re eating blueberries on your yogurt in the morning, berries from plant geneticists. And when you step outside and make your way to your workplace or your destination, you’re in our world of horticulture because you’re in cultivated landscapes.”
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