2004 Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award Recipient-B. Eugene Wofford

Castanea, Sep 2004 by Mellichamp, T Lawrence

Dr. B. Eugene Wofford at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, was the 15th recipient of the Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award, presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society at Memphis State University on April 16, 2004.

Gene Wofford hails from middle Tennessee, attended Austin Peay State University as an undergraduate and received advanced degrees from the University of Tennessee (UTK). He has spent most of his professional career at UTK and is Director of the Herbarium (TENN). The following comments are compiled from numerous letters received from friends and colleagues.

While publications in scientific journals and serving as major professor for several graduate students can certainly be enumerated as evidence of Gene's professional accomplishments, these contributions do not sufficiently document his service to botany and the public. His publications, often in collaboration with others, that reach a wide audience of professional and amateur botanists, plant lovers of all stripes, and a diverse crowd of tree buggers are more relevant to the botanical service component of the award. These contributions include the Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge; Atlas of the Tennessee Vascular Plants; Guide to the Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Tennessee (written and produced with his good friend Wayne Chester); and popular botanical articles for newspapers and conservation magazines. In addition, in 2003, Eugene was awarded one of the State's highest service awards, the Tennessee Department of Environmental and Conservation Stewardship Award.

"There's a man who was born to be a botanist," was said about Gene by an early colleague, and the thrill of discovery is part of the energy that drives his passion as a field botanist. This passion is not only visible while he is in the field but also when he has resolved a distribution or taxonomic problem or makes other discoveries from herbarium material. Juxtaposed to this is the impressive knowledge he has of plant names, plant relationships, and distributions. It is a rare moment when there is a native plant that he does not know or where it grows; but if this does happen, within short order, it is resolved. He has added much to the knowledge of the flora of Tennessee and the Southeast.

As a teacher and mentor, Eugene has inspired all of his students to go a few steps beyond and leave the institution with a wealth of knowledge. His pedagogy has always been to help students find the spark that lights their fire and then guide them through the problem areas. Eugene's friendly nature is a mixture of good old boy from middle Tennessee and a learned scholar. His down-to-earth personality and humanistic sense of humor makes him a likeable person to all who know him. It is only during the Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage that one can see Eugene express both of his exceptional, contrasting, talents-one as a scholarly teacher on a trail with pilgrims discovering the spring wildflowers and the other later that night as the country singer talent within is released with the help of his friends.

Gene's quiet ways have led some to underestimate the impact he has had on Botany in the Southeast. In the spirit of Betty Bartholomew, Eugene has been a faithful and dedicated curator of the University of Tennessee herbarium. As the University has made the unfortunate decision to collapse the Botany Department, Eugene has been an outspoken voice in promoting the environmental and educational resource the herbarium collection gives the University and the people of the state. In addition, he has been an advocate for training more students to meet the growing need of graduates in field botany. His continuing efforts to build the herbarium at UTK serve as a 'how to' model for maintaining a vigorous herbarium in the 21st century. Gene has been able to get funding to support the herbarium, and has worked to put over 6,000 images on-line to make the collections available to students throughout the world. He has taken in orphan herbaria and has worked to distribute extra materials to other herbaria in the region. Gene's excellent curation has provided a solid anchor for botanical research in the Southeast. This position is one of the least understood and appreciated by university faculty and administrators, but among members of the SABS, we all recognize the hard and often tedious work, long hours, patience with colleagues and the public, and responsibilities that go with a well-maintained herbarium such as TENN.

Finally, and importantly, Gene has played a major role in assuring the continuation of the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage at Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the role of the University of Tennessee in it. Gene, Pat Cox, and Ken McFarland have contributed extraordinary time and effort in making sure that this Pilgrimage is the success it has been for over 50 years. This public event has attracted thousands over the years, undoubtedly opening the eyes of many attendees to the beautiful world of plants and forests. The published program of tours and events does not reflect the number of tasks that Wofford and crew have performed to get, maintain, and replace trip leaders, attend numerous organizational meetings, and organize all the events at the Pilgrimage. Without Gene's personal commitment and involvement after Ed Clebsch stepped aside, the Pilgrimage would not have survived to celebrate a 50th anniversary. Rarely do I hear any words of thanks to them for all their work. This award constitutes a word of collective "Thanks!" for their dedication.-T. LAWRENCE MELLICHAMP, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE; CHAIR, THE ELIZABETH ANN BARTHOLOMEW AWARD COMMITTEE.