June 28, 2022
Congratulations Marty Draper! Distinguished Service Award - North Central Division of American Phytopathological Society
Dr. Draper has been recognized with the Distinguished Service Award for the North Central Division of the American Phytopathological Society at the division meeting in Lincoln, NE last week. According to the North Central APS website, "This is the North Central Division's most prestigious award and recognizes an individual for their contribution to discovery, learning and/or engagement in plant pathology in the North Central region."
Dr. Draper is our Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. Previously, he was the Department Head of Plant Pathology, and he continues to hold a faculty title of Professor in the Department. Dr. Draper remains active in the field, as lead PI of a large USDA NIFA Tactical Sciences grant to bring together biosecurity expertise from the plant, animal and food safety realms.
Dr. Draper received a B.S. at Iowa State, then M.S. and Ph.D. at North Dakota State. Dr. Draper held extension and diagnostics-focused faculty positions at North Dakota State University and South Dakota State University. Then, from 2006-2016 he was a National Program Leader for Plant Pathology and IPM at USDA-NIFA in Washington, DC. At NIFA he helped to lead multiple national programs including the Extension Integrated Pest Management program and the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN). NPDN includes 70 diagnostic labs from all fifty U.S. states and three territories. KSU is the hub for the Great Plains Diagnostic Network (GPDN) within NPDN, with Dr. Jim Stack (Professor in Plant Pathology) as Director. Marty's leadership at the national level was key to the network's success in the Great Plains region. Marty was a driving force in leading the NPDN through strategic planning processes, capacity-buiding programs, funding models and many other key planning and implementation processes. His experience as a boots-on-the-ground diagnostician greatly informed those processes.
Congratulations Dr. Draper!