Jim Moyer

Jim Moyer

Dr. Jim Moyer, plant pathologist at North Carolina State University, has been named director of Washington State University’s Agricultural Research Center, with a tentative starting date of May 1. He succeeds Dr. Ralph Cavalieri, who is now WSU’s associate vice president for alternative energy.

Moyer grew up in Dayton, Washington, and earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy at WSU in 1971. He has a master’s degree and a doctorate in plant pathology from Pennsylvania State University, where he was a graduate student of WSU president emeritus Sam Smith. In 1976, Moyer joined the faculty at North Carolina State, where research has focused on virology and, specifically, tospoviruses. He has been head of the department of plant pathology for the past decade.

Moyer was president of the American Phytopathological Society in 2008-2009.