George L. McNew, who was instrumental in bringing the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) for Plant Research, Inc., to its current site on the campus of Cornell University, died Oct. 30, in Las Cruces, N.M. He was 90.

McNew served as managing director of BTI from 1949 to 1974, only the second person to hold that post since BTI's founding in Yonkers, N.Y., in 1924.

The move to Cornell in 1978 was primarily sparked by a desire to affiliate with a university. McNew contacted professional colleagues at Cornell's New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, in an effort to explore alternative sites.

BTI finally singled out Cornell, and Oregon State University at Corvallis as possible new homes. The stakes were high. Roy Young, a vice president at Oregon State and one of McNew's former graduate students had interested Oregon Governor Tom McCall in supporting the move, and the Oregon legislature passed a bill authorizing $6.75 million for the construction of headquarters and greenhouses in Oregon.

However, there was a time limit for BTI to accept the offer, according to an informal history written by the late S. E. A. "Mac" McCallan, a scientist at BTI. Neither New York Lt. Gov. Malcolm Wilson, a native of Yonkers, nor Ernest L. Boyer, chancellor of the State University of New York, wanted BTI to leave the state. In July 1973 Gov. Nelson Rockefeller introduced special legislation in the New York State legislature, and a month later a bill was passed authorizing $8.5 million for the construction of a facility for BTI if the institute would agree to relocate to Cornell.

BTI accepted the state's offer in May 1974, and the institute moved to Cornell's Ithaca campus four years later.

Prior to his affiliation with BTI, McNew held positions at the Rockefeller Institute, the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, the U.S. Rubber Co., and Iowa State University, where he was chair of the botany and plant pathology department. His research focused primarily on plant disease, crop pests and their control.

McNew was born August, 1908 in Alamogordo, N.M., where his family were pioneer ranchers. He received his bachelor's degree from New Mexico State University and later earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Iowa State.

BTI had fallen into disrepair, due to the Great Depression and World War II, before McNew took over as managing director in 1949. He quickly began policies to keep top scientists at the institute. He improved a pension plan, purchased state-of-the-art equipment and brought in more support for scientific research. Under his direction, BTI grew into the world's premiere non-profit plant research facility.

In 1952, McNew served as president of the American Phytopathological Society (APS), an organization that studies plant pathogens, and in 1965 he was named one of the first APS fellows. He authored numerous articles on plant diseases, parasitism, agrichemicals and fungicides.

He was president of Torrey Botanical Club, president of the New York-North Jersey section of the American Chemical Society and governor of the New York City district of Rotary.

Following his retirement from BTI, he returned to New Mexico. Between 1978 and 1987, he was a distinguished scientist and consultant to the dean of the New Mexico State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics. In 1987, BTI created the post of George L. McNew Distinguished Scientist. The first and current holder is Richard C. Staples.

McNew is survived by his wife Elizabeth, of Las Cruces. A daughter, Freda Louise, died in 1984.