Scholarships

The program established in 2023 in honor of the late Coach Vince Dooley from the University of Georgia offers a valuable opportunity for Juniors or Seniors in 2 or 4-year agricultural science or horticulture programs. Here’s a breakdown of the key details:

Purpose
To honor Coach Vince Dooley and provide students with networking and employment opportunities within the IPPS (International Plant Production Society) community.

Eligibility:
Open to Juniors or Seniors enrolled in agricultural science or horticulture programs at 2 or 4 year colleges/ universities.

Benefits:

• Full coverage for registration, hotel, and travel (either actual flight costs or mileage reimbursement).
• An additional $250 for spending money.
• Accommodation in a shared room with other scholarship winners.

Requirements:

• Attendees must bring their resume to the conference.
• Introduce themselves during the Question Box session.
• Articulate why they are a strong candidate for employment.

Conference Details:

• A three and a half day event.
• Includes two full days of bus tours visiting area nurseries, public gardens, and greenhouse operations.
• Educational program with short presentations.
• Previous meeting papers and tour highlights are available on the IPPS website.

This scholarship provides a significant opportunity for students to gain exposure and make connections in the horticultural industry, while also celebrating Coach Dooley’s legacy.

Applications will be reviewed by the Coach Vince Dooley Scholarship Committee. Results will be provided to potential awardees at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting.

Application Deadline: June 1

This award is open to employed or self-employed nursery/green industry professionals.

The purpose of the Margie Jenkins IPPS Conference Scholarship Award is to enable individuals who are employed or self-employed in the nursery/green industry to attend an International Plant Propagators Society – Southern Region of North America (IPPS-SRNA) meeting for their first time. The award will cover full registration, which includes the educational programs, tours and banquet. Travel and lodging expenses are not included. 

Margie Jenkins was a long-time member of the IPPS-SRNA – who started her nursery/green industry career later in life. She became a mentor for everyone and was deeply passionate about plants. Under her leadership, the Jenkins Farm and Nursery enlarged and prospered, and “Ms. Margie” became recognized as a botanical authority across the Gulf States. She was a frequent guest speaker and lecturer at nursery and botanical organizations. She received awards from many nursery associations and was the first woman to be inducted into Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture Hall of Distinction. Ms. Margie was passionate about mentoring – and introducing new plants to the green industry. She exemplified the IPPS motto: “To Seek and Share”

Criteria

• Must be employed or self-employed in the nursery/green industry.
• Award will be presented to an individual who has never attended an IPPS-SRNA conference.
• Preference is for awardees to be local from the region where the annual meeting takes place.
• Required: Application form (below), plus recommendation letter from employer or customer.
• Deadline: June 1; annual IPPS-SR Conference normally occurs in October.
• Recipients to write a short summary of their Conference highlights to post along with their photo on the SRNA website.

Contact: Donna Shealy Foster, Secretary/Treasurer scplant@bellsouth.net

Purpose:
The Vivian Munday Young Horticulture Professional Scholarship was created to provide financial assistance to young horticulture professionals and students interested in attending the IPPS Southern Region Annual Meeting. A “young horticulture professional” is defined as an individual with less than five years of work experience in the horticultural field.

Scholarship Benefits:
Waiver for registration, tours, and hotel accommodations for the annual meeting.

Work Requirements:
In exchange for financial assistance, scholarship recipients will complete various hands-on work assignments during the event. These tasks will assist the local site chairperson in ensuring that the educational program and tours run smoothly.

Examples of work assignments include:

• Assisting with the plant auction
• Staffing the registration desk
• Helping the audio/visual technician during educational sessions

Assignments will be scheduled to allow recipients to attend most meeting events. Upon arrival at the annual meeting, recipients will report to the local site chairperson for their assignments.

Event Overview:
The IPPS Southern Region Annual Meeting typically spans three and a half days, featuring:

• Two full days of bus tours to area nurseries, public gardens, and greenhouse operations
• An educational program with short presentations
• Past papers and tour highlights are also posted on the IPPS website

Eligibility:
All horticulture students and young professionals with less than five years of work experience are eligible to apply for the Vivian Munday Scholarship.

Application:

• Applications are due by June 1st. 
• The Vivian Munday Scholarship Committee will review the applications, and results will be communicated to awardees at least 30 days before the annual meeting
• Complete the application form below and submit it to Donna Shealy Foster, Secretary/Treasurer, IPPS Southern Region at scplant@bellsouth.net.

About 
“The Charles Student Research Competition” has been named in honor of Dr. Charles Gilliam, former Professor of Horticulture at Auburn University, and Mr. Charlie Parkerson, originator of the student competition. 

Recognition for Quality Research
The most highly respected nursery/green industry organization in the southern United States of America is offering three awards for original research results pertaining to the production of horticultural crops in the southern USA. 

Graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in any university, junior, community, or four-year colleges are eligible. Three students will be selected to present oral presentations and four students for poster presentations at the meeting. In past years, the students have reported on many aspects of horticulture – macro and micropropagation, rooting hormones, new substrates, herbicide movement in runoff water, weed control in nursery production, insect control, flowering, nutrition, plant water relations, etc.

The Charles Student Research Competition 
Research paper titles are due 15 August and papers are due by 1 September. Three students will be selected to present oral presentations and three students for poster presentations at the meeting. 

Four awards, $1000, $500, and $250 will be given to first, second, and third place paper presenters, respectively. This is a great opportunity for students to present their research and meet many of the leading growers in the Southeast.

 In addition, the society awards a travel grant up to $500 for each student presenting an oral presentation. Also, three additional student papers will be selected to receive a $500 travel grant to support the student in presenting a poster in the Poster Session. 

IPPS Exchange Programs offered by the Southern Region North America 

• Eligibility: Open to IPPS-Southern Region members who are 35 or younger or new to the industry.
• Application deadline for all scholarships is June 1.
• See below for application form (click “Download document”)

North American Exchange Program ACTIVE IN 2025

• A new exchange scholarship supported by all three North American Regions. 
• The selected participants will attend the Eastern or Western Region meetings. 
• The $1,000 scholarship given to 2 different candidates is be used for travel and hotel expenses. 
• Conference costs will be covered by the hosting region. 

Western Region Meeting Dates:  September 16-19, 2025

• PASSPORT NECESSARY
• Coast Langley City Hotel & Convention Centre
• Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Eastern Region Meeting Dates:  October 14 -17, 2025 

• Louisville, Kentucky
• More Details Coming Soon

European Region Exchange NEXT CYCLE 2026

Watch this YouTube video to learn more about this wonderful young professional opportunity

• PASSPORT NECESSARY
• The selected participant will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship to cover travel expenses and incidentals. 
• Conference costs will be covered by the European Region. 
• The Exchange Representative will attend the European Region Annual Meeting, present a 20-minute talk, and submit a paper for the European Region IPPS proceedings based on their plant production experience.
• The following year, the participant will present another 20-minute talk and submit a paper at the Southern Region Annual Meeting, sharing their experience as the Exchange Delegate.
• Exact travel dates will be established by European Region Host and Scholarship Awardee.