Newsletter - Spring 2008

The James G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Science

Professor Will R. Horwath was selected as the James G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Science. The Boswell Chair in soil science was established with a $1.5 million gift from the James G. Boswell Foundation. The Boswell family has had a significant impact on California’s agriculture through their farming activities and philanthropy. The holder of the Endowment is expected to conduct research in soil science related to sustainable agriculture in California and provide leadership in integrating application of soil science principles to agriculture and natural resource challenges at farm and regional scales in California.

Professor Horwath has a distinguished career at UC Davis.  He was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources in July 1996 and was promoted to Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry in July, 2004. His research record includes over 90 peer reviewed papers and millions of dollars in research grants from highly competitive state and federal funding sources. Many of these funds have been used to advance the sustainable agriculture program on campus. He has been a leader in all sustainable agriculture research at UC Davis, including the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems project for which he was the Director since 2003.  The Endowed Chair forms an integral part of the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute Initiative, and is expected to lead the development of cross-disciplinary collaborations in areas appropriate to the Agricultural Sustainability Institute. More information can be found at: http://asi.ucdavis.edu/.