Jim Rushing

DATE:      3-9-07

CONTACT:  Jim Rushing, 843-402-5388; jrshng@clemson.edu

WRITER:  Tom Lollis, 803-284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

Clemson Names Rushing Director for Coastal Research and EducationCenter

CLEMSON – Jim Rushing has been named director for Clemson University’s Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston. He has served as interim director since March 2005.

Rushing joined Clemson in 1985 after earning a Ph.D. from the University of Florida. He has also served as a post-harvest management consultant in Chile and as a visiting scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A Spanish speaker, he has worked in more than 25 countries. His research includes medicinal plant physiology and biochemistry.

His appointment coincides with a refinement of missions for Clemson’s statewide network of research sites dedicated to the state’s agriculture and natural resource industries.

The Coastal Research and Education Center will continue to focus on vegetable and specialty crop production with a new emphasis on the effects of plant-based foods on human health and nutrition. Current research includes cultivation practices, disease management, integrated pest management, post-harvest handling and fresh produce food safety. Future research will seek to enhance the nutritional qualities of plant-based foods and to discover the molecular triggers that activate genes associated with nutrition-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke.

The Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science in Georgetown will strengthen its focus on the environmental impact of development in the state’s coastal region ­ particularly forested wetland ecology, water quality, forest genetics and forest management.

The Edisto Research and Education Center in Blackville will continue to focus on sustainable production systems for row crops, vegetables and beef cattle, with a new emphasis on emerging agribusiness areas, such as forage-fed beef.

The Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence will continue to focus on improving productivity of traditional crops and place a new emphasis on stimulating agricultural innovation through biotechnology.

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