Redman honored for career in horticulture

Friday, October 6, 2017

Paul Redman is a leader in the world of horticulture.

He has served as president and CEO of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, for the past 11 years. During that time, Redman implemented institutional and strategic reforms that have positioned the Gardens as a premier horticultural, cultural and educational institution of the 21st century.

The result has been impressive, including an overall attendance increase of 75 percent and an incredible climb in membership from 17,000 to 63,000 households. Longwood Gardens welcomes more than 1.4 million visitors per year, making it the most visited public garden in North America and the third-most visited attraction in Philadelphia.

The Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University recently celebrated Redman as a 2017 Distinguished Alumni of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

“Paul has been an advocate of Oklahoma State University in all of the positions he has held,” said Janet Cole, head of OSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. “With Paul’s leadership, Longwood Gardens has maintained a graduate program in cooperation with the University of Delaware. Two of our alums have graduated from the Longwood Graduate Program and then subsequently worked in botanical gardens.”

Redman earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in horticulture from OSU in 1990 and 1994, respectively. After graduation, he co-hosted the television show “In the Garden with Mike Davis and Paul Redman” and served as an adjunct faculty member at Columbus State Community College in the Department of Construction Technology.

He also was director of horticulture at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden in Columbus, Ohio.

Throughout his professional successes, Redman has remained an advocate of OSU. Most recently, he spent a few days with the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture to visit The Botanic Garden at OSU, speak with classes and present a public lecture.

“Paul has been back to OSU investing time in the department assessing our programs and facilities,” Cole said. “He has provided some great ideas and suggestions that we are currently implementing in the department.”

He received the 2016 American Public Gardens Association Award of Merit and was recognized as the International Garden Tourism Network’s 2015 Person of the Year. In addition, Redman received the 2015 American Horticultural Society’s Professional Award, the 2014 Wyck Strickland Award and was named the 2014 American Society of Horticultural Science’s Dr. William A. “Tex” Frazier Lecturer.