Where are they now?
Former Fellows of the Longwood Graduate Program are represented in a diverse array of professions throughout North America. The “Where Are They Now?” section of our Web site highlights some of these unique individuals, making amazing contributions to the field of public horticulture and beyond. Please enjoy reading about the accomplishment of our Alumni below and check back regularly for updates.
George wise- Class of 1997
Owner
Wildscapes, LLC, Climax, MI
Professional and Academic History:
George’s academic career started with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the Loyola University in Baltimore and a Masters Degree in Entomology from North Carolina State University. After a six-year career as a Senior Entomologist for Naval Facilities Engineering Command, George applied to the Longwood Graduate Program in an attempt to make a career change to Horticulture, which had always been a great passion of his.
After finishing the Program he took his first job in the field of Horticulture as the Director of the Awbury Arboretum. After two years he became the Superintendent of the Shaw Nature Preserve for the Missouri Botanic Garden. Here he initiated prairie restoration and managed the 2,400 acre preserve in the Eastern Ozarks. From this position he moved on to become Director of the Memphis Botanic Garden. George was Director at this Garden for 11 years and during his tenure as Director oversaw the construction of the Seijaku-En Japanese Garden and the Little Garden Club Sensory Garden, restoration of the Rose Garden, renovation of the Goldsmith Civic Garden Center, and creation of the Environmental Education Program. Moving to Battle Creek, MI he became Executive Director of the Leila Arboretum Society (LAS) and helped to raise $4,100,000 for arboretum restoration, for construction of a Children’s Garden, the Miss Iva Doty Native Plant Garden, and the Peace Labyrinth. LAS ran the Master Gardener Program for Calhoun County, the beautification and urban forestry program for the City of Battle Creek and also maintained the downtown public garden owned by the Kellogg Foundation.
In 2008, George ended his not-for-profit career as Director of Development of the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy in Portage, MI. Today George is the Owner of Wildscapes, LLC, a company he started in 2006. Wildscapes specializes in landscape design and installation with an emphasis on native plants. The company also designs and fabricates Metal Art, which is a very creative and therapeutic process according to George.
Program Career Benefits:
The Longwood Graduate Program benefitted George’s career in many ways. He was offered the job of Director of the Memphis Botanic Garden partly because the President of the Board knew Dr. Dick Lighty and was familiar with the Program. Museum and Gallery Studies, which is still a key part of the theoretical training, gave him a broad perspective on the operation and governance of cultural institutions. This served him extremely well, especially as a reviewer for the Institute for Museum and Library Services. He also acknowledges receiving a great grounding in Botany from Dr. Don “Dutch” Huttleston, who was Longwood Garden’s Taxonomist at the time.
Favorite Longwood Graduate Program Memory:
One of the things George fondly remembers about the program was his enthusiastic Director, Dr. Dick Lighty, who energetically talked and identified roadside plants while driving at 65 mph on their fieldtrips. The various opportunities to travel and meet many experts in the field of Public Horticulture are the most memorable for George. This includes a meeting with Elizabeth Scholtz, President of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, as well as a conversation with George Putnam and family on their Hunnewell Estate.
Contact:
Colvin Randall - Class of 1975
P.S. du Pont Fellow
Longwood Gardens
Professional and Academic History:
Colvin Randall graduated from Dover High School in 1968 and from the University of Virginia in 1972 with a degree in architectural history. He worked in the mornings of summer 1972 at Hillwood, the Washington, DC, estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post, and attended every horticultural course at the University of Maryland from 1972 to 1973. He was accepted in Longwood Program in July 1973. In 1977, he completed his thesis, The History of the Fountains at Longwood Gardens, and graduated the same year. Darrel Apps, Longwood's Department Head of Education, hired him as a full-time employee in 1977 to succeed Leslie Spraker, Longwood's first Publicity Coordinator and Editor. From 1977 until 2004, he managed Longwood's Public Relations efforts.
On March 1, 2004, he became Longwood's Historian and Information Manager overseeing the Library and Archives, and on April 28, 2009, Longwood Gardens appointed Colvin Randall as the first P. S. du Pont Fellow. This new position gave him his unique role as Longwood's chief historian, as well as the freedom to continue to tell Longwood's story.
Program Career Benefits:
He is still continuing the research that he did in the program today. So it has benefited him directly and completely.
Favorite Longwood Graduate Program Memory:
His favorite memory of the program was the close interaction with all the other fellows including wonderful trips, gatherings, and projects. Also, he remembered that the weekly or biweekly botanic garden management sessions with Longwood's first director were very memorable.
