Stan Cox, Ecosphere Fellow, retired from The Land Institute on December 3, 2024. Cox served as a plant breeder from 2000 to 2020 and the research coordinator from 2000 to 2012. He led the perennial sorghum program until 2020 when he became an Ecosphere Fellow.
“Stan embodies the holistic approach The Land Institute takes to reconciling the human economy with Nature’s economy,” says Rachel Stroer, President of the organization. “From founding the perennial sorghum program as a plant breeder to becoming the inaugural Ecosphere Studies Fellow as an author and thought leader, Stan has leveraged his scientific integrity, radical intellect, and rye sense of humor to inspire many generations of fellow research staff, partners, scientists, supporters, and the public at large.”
On his arrival at The Land in 2000, Cox and colleagues initiated breeding programs in wheatgrass, perennial wheat, perennial sunflower, and other grain crops. Early on, Cox and his fellow Land Institute plant breeders David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, and Shuwen Wang each led the breeding of different perennial grain crop species, with Cox developing perennial grain sorghum as a new food crop. Starting in 2013, Cox and then-postdoctoral fellow Pheonah Nabukalu worked together to create unique perennial sorghum populations adapted for use by smallholder farmers in East Africa. Nabukalu assumed leadership of the Perennial Sorghum Program in 2020.
Land Institute Chief Scientist Tim Crews had this to say about Cox’s influence: “The Land Institute can be divided into two eras: before Stan Cox arrived and after. The experience, work ethic, and critical thinking he brought significantly escalated the organization’s caliber of research. The rigor and expertise he contributed to the long-term mission of developing perennial grains were only matched by his sense of kindness, patience, and infectious sense of humor.”
When Cox joined the Ecosphere Fellows program in 2020, his focus was exploring and writing about ecological limits and the social and economic roots of the global ecological crisis. Cox wrote two books, The Green New Deal and Beyond and The Path to a Livable Future, along with several book chapters, academic papers, op-eds, and articles, including How Much is Enough for Yes! Magazine. Since 2022, he has written over 40 monthly or bimonthly essays syndicated to various online outlets by City Lights Books and TomDispatch.com.
“Over his decades with The Land Institute, Stan’s research has deeply investigated how people can build ways of feeding themselves and living together that provide enough for everyone within ecological limits,” says Aubrey Streit Krug, Director of the Perennial Cultures Lab. “We are grateful for Stan’s foundational contributions and look forward to his ongoing camaraderie with us in the movement toward a more just, perennial future for people and agriculture.”