The Department of Plant Pathology has endowments designed to help us provide greater graduate study and outreach opportunities for our students. If you would like to share is this endeavor, our current funds are listed below.

To make a secure credit card gift, on-line, simply click on the fund of your choice.

Gifts may also be mailed to:

University Development
Michigan State University
300 Spartan Way
East Lansing, MI 48824-1005

If you are mailing your gift in, please make sure you specify the name of the fund to which you wish to donate. Thank you for helping us help others!

Department of Plant Pathology

Fruit Pathology Assistantship Endowment

The goal of this Assistantship is to enable the brightest minds and the most dedicated individuals to study plant pathology at Michigan State University. The assistantship is available for supporting graduate students in the Department of Plant Pathology to conduct research on basic and applied aspects of important diseases of Michigan’s perennial fruit crops (apple, cherry, peach, plum, pear, grape, blueberry, strawberry, brambles). The research may be on any aspect of disease diagnosis, epidemiology, etiology, physiology, vector relations, control, or properties of the etiologic agent. Research supported by this assistantship should have the potential of providing a better understanding of fruit diseases and contribute ultimate value to the fruit industry.
Michael Zook Memorial Research Fellowship in Plant Pathology

Michael Zook Memorial Research Fellowship in Plant Pathology

Michael Norman Zook was born on May 13th 1959 in Los Angeles, California. He received his B.S. degree at University of California, Berkeley, in Biochemistry in 1982. He received both his M.S. and Ph.D degrees in Plant Pathology at University of Kentucky in 1986 and 1991, respectively. In 1991, he joined the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Michigan State University, where he was appointed as a Visiting Assistant Professor, until his death in 1998. His research was focused on plant pathogen interactions; exploring molecular mechanisms involved in plant resistance to microbial pathogens. His research career, although very brief, was well recognized nationally. Michael loved research and greatly appreciated the opportunities available to him here at Michigan State University. During his very brief time at MSU, he served as a mentor to several undergraduate and graduate students and he touched the lives of many others. Michael had a great passion for plants; above all he loved growing roses. He loved Michigan State University because of its beautiful gardens and on beautiful days he often took his work outside to enjoy the gardens. Michael Zook died on July 5th, 1998 at the age of 39. This Endowment is in his memory, in support of graduate student research in host-pathogen interactions in the Department of Plant Pathology at MSU.