From November 16 Cornell Chronicle article:
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is beginning a yearlong planning process with faculty, staff, students and stakeholders to develop a new organizational structure for one of its oldest and most respected areas of expertise: plants.
Kathryn J. Boor (right), the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of CALS, made the announcement Nov. 16.
The five departments that fall under this umbrella — Horticulture, Crop and Soil Sciences, Plant Biology, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology — will be shaped into fewer, larger units. …
Staff in the Department of Horticulture are familiar with change, having gone through three mergers and recently becoming the new home of two faculty members from the Department of Education. Department Chair Marvin Pritts said the experiences have been positive.
“Each time we have combined or reorganized, it’s turned out really well for us,” Pritts said. “We’re interested in exploring future opportunities that may further enhance our strengths.”
See also: Reimagining the Plant Sciences at CALS