Washington State University professor and horticulturalist Kate Evans is the interim director of the WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center.
Her term begins Aug. 26. She succeeds Jim McFerson, who led the program for about four years, according to a news release.
Evans joined the WSU faculty in 2008. She is a Department of Horticulture professor, and leads its pome fruit breeding program, for apples and pears. Evans was involved in the final stages of selection and release for the Cosmic Crisp apple, according to the release.
“With almost three decades of experience managing agricultural research that puts better varieties in growers’ hands, Kate has clearly demonstrated her ability to share and deliver the kind of valuable knowledge that’s at the core of the WSU tree fruit mission,” André Denis Wright, dean of WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, said in the release.
