Prominent agronomy professor to retire at age 70

With more than four decades to show for it, Ronald Phillips redefines the meaning of school spirit.
Phillips, a Regents’ professor of agronomy at the University of Minnesota, is retiring after the spring semester.
“Most people just ask why I just don’t keep going,” said the 70-year-old Phillips, sporting his maroon striped shirt accompanied with an embroidered University logo.
Over the course of his storied career, Phillips has been widely celebrated for his myriad contributions to agriculture and plant genetics, specifically in his discovery of regenerating corn from cells.
From 1996 to 1998, Phillips was the chief scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was a chairman on a White House committee responsible for drafting a congressional proposal for the National Plant Genome Initiative.
He is also a recipient of the international Wolf Prize award that included prize money Phillips donated to the University.
Early career
While some students struggle with career plans in college, Phillips said he had it figured out as early as high school.
“I actually decided as a freshman in high school I wanted to go into plant genetics,” Phillips said.
Phillips attributes his early interest in plants and agriculture to his upbringing. Growing up in Crawfordsville, Ind., Phillips’ father worked with hybrid plants, moderating meetings between farmers and dealers. As a child, Phillips accompanied his father to the meetings.
After high school, Phillips attended Purdue University, majoring in crop science. It was there Phillips met genetics professor Wayne Keim, who, according to Phillips, “took [him] under his wing.”
After being invited by Charles Burnham, a former University professor and plant genetics pioneer, Phillips continued his studies at the University of Minnesota, receiving a doctoral degree in genetics in 1966.
Phillips said his early experience working with high-profile individuals drove him to delve deeper into the field.
“There was a lot of depth. In fact, I wondered if I could ever understand it when I started,” Phillips said. “It was like standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Awards, major findings and contributions
Phillips is often highlighted for his groundbreaking discovery that led to the development of genetically engineered corn crops.
During his postdoctoral study at Cornell University, Phillips worked with Ed Green — now a world-renowned plant scientist —on developing a technique that would utilize cells from which corn could be regenerated.
“Genetically engineered corn starts with these cells,” Phillips said. “DNA is put into it, and then plants are regenerated and a seed is obtained from those plants.”
While the technique is touted as a remarkable achievement for agriculture, over the years various environmental groups and government officials have opposed genetically modified food, expressing concern for health and environmental hazards.
According to Phillips, genetically engineered crops account for nearly 2 billion acres of today’s agriculture production.
The crops’ advantages include higher levels of pest resistance and production rate.
“[The discovery] was the foundation for the genetic engineering of corn,” said Howard Rines, a longtime colleague and University professor. “It was the key accomplishment that made that all possible,”
Phillips’ work on the national level led Congress to pass the National Plant Genome Initiative. The initiative was launched in 1998 as a long-term project to accelerate advancement in plant biology through a coordinated approach by involving researchers and scientists from around the world.
Its mission was to explore the DNA structure and function in plants so useful properties of plants could be understood, improved and ultimately harnessed to address national needs, including agriculture, nutrition, energy and waste reduction.
In 2001, Phillips was awarded a $3 million grant from the initiative to research a radiation hybrid system for the genetic and physical mapping of the corn genome. Phillips conducted research over the course of four years.
In 2007, Phillips received the international Wolf Prize in agriculture. The award recognized Phillips for his “groundbreaking discoveries in genetics and genomics” and included a $50,000 cash prize.
Rines said he wasn’t surprised when he heard about the award.
“He is one of the well-known, outstanding leaders in agricultural sciences.”
Instead of keeping the money, Phillips had the organization make out the check to the University of Minnesota to help fund a new scholarship program called the Ron and Judy Phillips Plant Genetics Scholarship Fund, named after him and his wife.
Post-retirement life
As Phillips prepares to say farewell, he said he’d like to stay involved with various projects, including his scholarship fund.
He also said he hopes to continue a program he founded through his church that helps bring students from developing countries to study agriculture in the United States.
Phillips has also been asked to sit on several advisory committees funded by the National Science Foundation.
Looking back, Phillips said he believes a lot of his success had to do with the University and his colleagues.
“This is a unique place. We’ve got good facilities here to do this kind of work,” Phillips.
Joachim Messing, who is currently a molecular biology professor at Rutgers University, worked with Phillips while in Minnesota during the 1980s and continues to see Phillips regularly.
“Ron was a great leader,” Messing said. “The University will miss him a lot.”