Rate My Professor Alec Kowalewski

Alec Kowalewski serves as Professor and Grover Family Endowed Sustainable Urban Landscapes Specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University, a position he has held since 2025 following his tenure as Associate Professor and Turfgrass Specialist from 2012 to 2024. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Crop and Soil Sciences from Michigan State University in 2010, with a dissertation titled 'The built-up sand-capped athletic field system'; a Master of Science in the same field in 2006, focusing on 'Organically derived weed control methods'; and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art with honors in 2003, including a cognate in Landscape Design, also from Michigan State University. Earlier in his career, from 2010 to 2012, Kowalewski was Assistant Professor of Turfgrass Management in the Department of Environmental Horticulture at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Research Scientist in the Crop and Soil Science Department at the University of Georgia Coastal Plains Experiment Stations.

Kowalewski's research centers on sustainable landscape design, installation, and maintenance, encompassing turfgrass management and ecological management of turf, landscapes, and urban horticulture. His scholarly contributions include highly cited works such as 'Carbon sequestration in turfgrass–soil systems' (Plants, 2022), 'High soil carbon sequestration rates persist several decades in turfgrass systems: A meta-analysis' (Science of the Total Environment, 2023), 'Public land manager discourses on barriers and opportunities for a transition to low input turfgrass in urban areas' (Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 2020), and 'Nitrogen and iron sulfate affect Microdochium patch severity and turf quality on annual bluegrass putting greens' (Crop Science, 2017). He has also authored numerous Oregon State University Extension publications, including 'Practical Lawn Care for Western Oregon' (2018), 'Managing crane fly in lawns' (2020), 'Irrigation rates and frequencies for Western and Eastern Oregon turfgrass' (2021), and 'Through thoughtful practices, lawns can be climate-friendly' (2022). Kowalewski teaches courses such as Irrigation and Drainage (HORT 360), Sustainable Landscapes (HORT 315), and Sustainable Landscape Design (HORT 380), advises graduate students, and supports outreach through Beaver Landscapes and the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture, advancing sustainable practices in turfgrass systems, carbon sequestration, soil management, weed and disease control, and athletic field maintenance.