The influential Dutch Bulb Program in the United States is moving to Cornell University from Raleigh, N.C. The selection announcement notes that the move is a tribute to Cornell's extremely long and prestigious horticultural tradition.

The announcement was made by the Dutch Wholesalers Association for Flowerbulbs and Nursery Stock and by the North American Flowerbulb Wholesalers Association, made up of representatives from the Dutch and U.S. flower-bulb and greenhouse industry.

In recent years the bulb program has been headed by August A. De Hertogh, who is retiring as professor of horticultural science at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The program in North America was established three decades ago by the Dutch association, and it was instrumental in developing techniques for commercial greenhouse bulb producers to precisely "force" flower bulbs to be ready for the holidays and other market opportunities.

The selection announcement also noted that New York state has various climate zones that are available for research and that Cornell is situated in a part of the country with a rich tradition in flower bulb horticulture.

"This gives Cornell visibility and a unique strength in plant materials," says Thomas Weiler, Cornell professor and chair of floriculture and ornamental horticulture. "Plant materials is one of our core interest areas and one of scientific opportunity."

Cornell has selected William B. Miller of Clemson University to direct the bulb program. He will join the Cornell faculty late this summer as a professor of floriculture and ornamental horticulture. Miller earned his doctorate from Cornell in 1986. Since joining Clemson in 1991, he has taught several courses and developed a major research program on flower-bulb forcing and physiology. With collaborators and students, he has published more than 30 major scientific papers on bulbous plants and other floricultural crops, and a book, Easter and Hybrid Lily Production, published by Timber Press.

Miller was a founding academic director of the Southeast Greenhouse Conference, in Greenville, S.C., a 6-year-old program that has grown into the second-largest floriculture industry meeting in the United States.