Friends of IPM Awards
The mission of the Southern IPM Center is to champion the development and adoption of integrated pest management (IPM), the science of managing pests while protecting people, the environment and economy. Each Regional Center engages broadly with stakeholders to identify and address regional pest priorities in agriculture, communities and natural areas.
Since 2003, the Southern IPM Center (SIPMC) has worked with USDA, Land Grant universities, Extension, and many other partners in promoting and facilitating the development and implementation of IPM in many settings across the region.
Many of these partners have contributed to the region’s well-being for years or even decades.
Hall of Fame
The Southern IPM Hall of Fame award recognizes individuals who have contributed to any important aspect of Southern IPM over many years with documented history of career achievements in IPM.
Along with authorship of educational materials, research papers, manuals, books, and presentations of IPM material, Hall of Fame award candidates have greatly impacted IPM in the Southern region over the lifetime of their career.
At the time Dr. Clayton Hollier received this honor, it was known as the Southern IPM Lifetime Achievement Award. The award has since been renamed the Southern IPM Hall of Fame Award and continues to recognize individuals whose careers have had a lasting impact on integrated pest management.
Clayton Hollier, Lousiana State University
Written by Abbey Stewart
Before his retirement in 2012, Dr. Clayton A. Hollier was a professor emeritus in the Department of Plant Pathology at Louisiana State University. Dr. Hollier had an appointment split between Extension, research, and teaching. He was responsible for plant pathology education programs for rice, small grains, feed grains, sugarcane, ornamentals, turfgrasses, and forages.
Dr. Hollier began his IPM career as a research technician at the H.J. Heinz Company research facility in Merigold, Mississippi. While performing his duties, Dr. Hollier had the opportunity to apply IPM principles in practice and gained a deeper understanding of IPM’s benefits to the environment and the general public. These insights were invaluable as Dr. Hollier pursued his graduate studies in plant pathology at Mississippi State University.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Hollier has taught basic IPM principles to thousands of people. Upon joining Louisiana State University, he revolutionized prevailing approaches to disease management. Previously, disease “control” primarily consisted of spraying fungicides and antibiotics to combat fungal and bacterial pathogens. Dr. Hollier introduced integrated methods for managing fungal diseases, including basic scouting and appropriate cultural practices to reduce disease development. Dr. Hollier shared IPM principles with rice, corn, and wheat growers, as well as with growers of other crops.
Dr. Hollier advanced IPM education through a prolific body of publications that helped communicate foundational IPM concepts to diverse audiences. He authored numerous book chapters in textbooks that explain IPM principles and provide examples of how those practices are utilized in farming. Notably, he authored a chapter in “Plant Pathology Concepts and Laboratory Exercises,” a textbook used in introductory plant pathology courses worldwide.
Dr. Hollier also helped develop an IPM website, IPMLouisiana, which addresses IPM concepts, provides pest management updates, and supplies contact information for Louisiana citizens.
Beyond his physical and digital publications, Dr. Hollier also shared IPM principles in person during parish and commodity field days. Dr. Hollier taught IPM tactics to Extension agents, agricultural consultants, pesticide applicators, and home gardeners. In total, more than 85,000 people attended Dr. Hollier’s trainings over the years.
Throughout his career, Dr. Clayton Hollier played a pivotal role in advancing integrated pest management in Louisiana. His dedication to education, outreach, and research helped establish the IPM perspective as a cornerstone of pest management practices across the state.