Paul W. Meyer wins national award

From Penn News:

Paul W. Meyer, the F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum, received the prestigious Liberty Hyde Bailey Award from the American Horticultural Society (AHS) at its June 5th Great American Gardeners Awards Ceremony at River Farm in Alexandria, Virginia. AHS presents the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award to an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions to a least three of the following horticultural fields: teaching, research, communications, plant exploration, administration, art, business, and leadership.

“There is little doubt that Liberty Hyde Bailey was the most important proponent of Horticulture in America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is more than fitting that this award goes to Paul Meyer for his achievements in administration, communication, institution-building and plant introduction. His career has epitomized the breadth and magnitude of accomplishment for which this award was created. Throughout his career Paul has never sought personal acclaim for his accomplishments, but has exerted servant leadership as primus inter pars - first among equals. By embodying that rare quality of close identification with the institution he has served for almost four decades, Paul has created something more lasting and more positively effective than any personal fame. I am pleased to have known him over his entire career, and to be able to say that this man is my friend,” said Dick Lighty about Meyer’s award. Lighty himself was a recipient of the award in 1999.

“This recognition would not be possible without the help of a dedicated Board, hardworking staff and volunteers, and all of the Arboretum’s generous supporters. “Meyer was quick to add when congratulated for this prestigious award. “This is an affirmation of the national and international impact of the Morris Arboretum”, he continued.

Paul W. Meyer has been the F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania since 1991. Meyer came to the Arboretum as curator of the living collection in 1976, and has played a significant role in its transformation from a dilapidated lesser-known former private estate into a world-class public garden that welcomes approximately 130,000 visitors each year.

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