Department Head Appointed for USU Plants, Soils and Climate

Professor Paul Johnson has been named head of the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate (PSC) at Utah State University, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1998.

"Paul has served for the past nine months as the interim department head and has done a wonderful job,” said Ken White, dean of the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. “Plants, soils and climate teaching and research are major parts of the history of Utah State University and the work done by the faculty directly effects people’s lives now and will in the future.”

Johnson’s research and teaching specialty is horticulture and turfgrass science, especially related to drought and salinity tolerance and managing turf for uses from home landscapes to public parks and sports fields.

“This is an exciting time for our department because we are right at the crux of our changing climate and how we are all going to respond to it,” Johnson said. “We have the people and expertise to really be an important center for that work and helping people deal with changing climate. Weather events are becoming more extreme and climate change is the challenge we will all have to deal with.”

Johnson is part of the Center for Water-Efficient Landscaping, which brings together research and Extension efforts aimed at water conservation. Utah, and most western states, has a growing population and limited water supply, another important area of the departments’ expertise.

“The things we teach and study are at the interface of many issues that involve people and the environment,” Johnson said. “The work we do is about growing our food, building livable cities, managing soils for agriculture and in native landscapes. All of that affects the plants, soils, climate and people.”   

Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree at Iowa State University, and his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Minnesota. His appointment is pending approval by the USU Board of Trustees

Contact: Paul Johnson, Paul.Johnson@usu.edu, 435-797-7039

Writer: Lynnette Harris, Lynnette.Harris@usu.edu, 435-797-2189, 764-6936 (cell)