CONWAY, Ark. (September 9, 2014) – Hendrix biology
professor Dr. Ann Willyard was recently awarded a Challenge Cost Share grant by
the National Forest Genetics Laboratory (USDA Forest Service).
This $30,000 grant will support Dr. Willyard and a Hendrix
undergraduate research student in their study of Washoe pine.
“The status of Washoe pine is still uncertain” said
Willyard. “It is either North America’s second rarest pine, or an erroneously
recognized species. The distinctiveness of these pines has important
implications for forest management decisions in the western United States. Strong
evidence from appropriate sampling of geographic locations and of the nuclear
genes as well as chloroplast and mitochondrial genes will allow us to draw a
clear conclusion regarding the identity of Washoe pine. In order to lay the
issue to rest, the evidence must be strong enough to support a conclusion of
“not distinctive” if that is, indeed, the answer.”
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in
engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year,
Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by
U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges,
as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and
the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United
Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.