Caillouet Third in Horticulture Contest, Rom Closes Year as ASHS President

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Horticulture honors student Olivia Caillouet and agricultural economics and agribusiness associate professor Lanier Nalley conduct field research in Nampula, Mozambique.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Olivia Caillouet, a horticulture major in the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, placed third in the undergraduate student oral research presentation competition at the recent annual American Society for Horticultural Science conference in Atlanta.

Caillouet, a U of A Honors College senior from Little Rock who is also minoring in sustainability, presented on "Risk Mitigation Through Holistic Sustainable Horticultural Production Practices: The Case of Poultry in Northern Mozambique."

Her mentors and co-author on her research were associate professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness Lanier Nalley and University Professor of horticulture and Associate Dean for International Education Curt Rom.

Caillouet's study was funded in part through grants from the Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), the Bumpers College Undergraduate Creative Projects/Research Grants Program, U of A Honors College Study Abroad Grant and an Honors College Research Travel Grant.

In addition to spending time in Mozambique, Caillouet has completed internships at organic farms in Big Sur, California, and in Puerto Rico.

The conference also concluded Rom's year-long term as president of the American Society for Horticultural Sciences. Rom, who is also associate dean for international education, chaired several sessions and delivered a presidential address, "Where to Grow from Here."

Rom served as president-elect in 2014-15 and president in 2015-16, and will be chair of the board and a member of several committees in 2016-17.

Distinguished professor of horticulture John Clark, and horticulture professor and department head Wayne Mackay also attended the conference. 

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.