Dr. James N. Moore

Dr. James N. Moore received BSA and MS degrees from the University of Arkansas; then served as research associate at Rutgers University from 1957 to 1961, receiving his Ph.D. in 1961. For three years ,he was in charge of the federal blueberry and grape breeding programs. He then returned to his native state as associate professor at the University of Arkansas with research and teaching responsibilities in genetics, breeding and culture of fruit crops. In 1985, he was one of 10 members of the entire faculty to be named a University Professor. Dr. Moore has been recognized as an internationally known fruit breeder whose research has contributed significantly to economic development in Arkansas, nationally and worldwide. He has served as president of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Few agricultural scientists have had an impact equal to that of James N. Moore. Dr. Moore’s research program in fruit breeding dwarfed the average program. He was involved with six different crops—strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, table grapes, peaches and apples—and carried on major programs with each. Releases from the strawberry, blackberry, grape and peach work are being grown worldwide. “Cardinal” strawberries have become the dominant variety for commercial, pick-your-own and garden use in several states. Dr. Moore has received numerous awards on all levels for accomplishments and leadership. In 1987, he received a “Distinguished Service Award” from the USDA, one of only three given in all the state experiment station programs. In 1988, he received the “Gamma Sigma Delta International Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture.” He was the first Arkansan and the first horticulturist to receive this prestigious award since its inception in 1951. Despite the pressures of research, Dr. Moore has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, having an average of six-10 graduate students each year. He received high ratings from students, to whom he was both approachable and unassuming. As one outstanding student remarked, “We are being taught by a great man, yet you would never know it from his manner.”