ATM's Mackay to lead Mid-Florida REC
Horticulture expert Wayne Mackay, a professor and administrator with Texas A&M University, has been named director of the Mid-Florida REC in Apopka. He starts work at the new position July 1.
“I’m excited about coming to Florida and the opportunities it presents,” Mackay said. “I’m going to work hard with the faculty and staff to create a shared vision for the center.”
As a researcher, Mackay has focused on developing and identifying ornamental and floriculture crops for Texas. He bred Lupinus, or lupin, species for cut flower and bedding plant use, and bred Nerium oleander, a popular ornamental shrub, for improved cold tolerance. Altogether, he developed 10 new cultivars.
In 2004-2006, Mackay was associate resident director of the Texas A&M Center in Dallas, a multidisciplinary unit employing 21 research faculty and extension specialists. Much like an REC, the facility incorporated research and extension activities and also offered undergraduate and graduate classes taught on-site and via distance education.
He also is a co-creator of two popular Web sites, Texas Native Trees, and Texas Native Shrubs, which provide extensive information for both laypeople and experts.
Mackay has been with Texas A&M since 1991, when he began working as an assistant professor at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station El Paso.
He earned a doctoral degree in horticulture from the University of Maryland in 1991, a master of science degree in plant science from the University of Delaware in 1987 and a bachelor of science degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech in 1976.
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Dr. Wayne Mackay
