News From the Board of Governors
Jacqueline Krieger Klein Endowed Director’s Chair in Neurodegeneration Research Established
The Rutgers University Board of Governors today established the Jacqueline Krieger Klein Endowed Director’s Chair in Neurodegeneration Research.
Designed to honor, retain or recruit eminent scholars in the field of Alzheimer’s and dementia research, the chair was made possible by a generous gift of $3 million pledged by Herbert C. Klein in memory of his wife, Jacqueline Krieger Klein, who died in 2017 after battling Alzheimer’s disease. The gift supports Rutgers’ leadership in the fight against the disease and other devastating neurodegenerative conditions.
A Rutgers alumnus, longtime donor and former U.S. congressman, Klein made his gift to aid Rutgers’ transformative efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to creating the chair, the gift will establish the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s and Dementia Clinical Research and Treatment Center at the Brain Health Institute, which is affiliated with Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
The creation of the Jacqueline Krieger Klein Endowed Director’s Chair in Neurodegeneration Research was recommended by Gary Aston-Jones, director of the Brain Health Institute; Brian L. Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences; Prabhas V. Moghe, executive vice president for Academic Affairs; and president Jonathan Holloway.
Professor James A. Murphy Appointed to Ralph Geiger Chair in Turfgrass Science
The Rutgers University Board of Governors today appointed professor James A. Murphy, who is widely recognized as one of the nation’s top scientists in turfgrass management, to the Ralph Geiger Chair in Turfgrass Science.
Murphy is renowned for developing environmentally sound management practices, recently leading a national task force to identify knowledge gaps in how nutrients are transported to streams and groundwater, and coordinating the National Nutrient Management Summit, which drew experts from throughout the United States. He also served as technical adviser to state legislators in New Jersey for the passage of the first and most comprehensive fertilizer law governing nitrogen and phosphorus use on turf in the country.
He is an authority on turfgrass tolerance to traffic stress, cultural management of stress-induced diseases and nutrient management of cool-season grasses. He was elected a fellow of the Crop Science Society of America in 2014 and the American Society of Agronomy in 2015, and he was awarded the prestigious Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award in recognition of his significant career.
The late Ralph Geiger, a strong supporter of Rutgers’ turfgrass program, generously provided funds to create an endowed chair in turfgrass science at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences in 2005.
Murphy was recommended for the chair by Laura J. Lawson, interim executive dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and interim executive director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station; Christopher J. Molloy, chancellor of Rutgers University–New Brunswick; Prabhas V. Moghe, executive vice president for Academic Affairs; and president Jonathan Holloway. His term began July 1, 2020.
