Brooklyn Botanic Garden President Emeritus Dies
Judy Zuk died at age 55 on Sept. 1, 2007 after a long illness. Zuk was the president emeritus of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, one of America’s preeminent botanic gardens. She had led the garden for more than 15 years as the fifth president in its nearly 100-year history. Before coming to Brooklyn in 1990, she was the director of Scott Arboretum of Swathmore College in Pennsylvania.
Zuk studied botany at Rutgers University and graduated summa cum laude in 1973. She received a master’s degree in Public Garden Administration from the University of Delaware and was awarded a Garden Club of America fellowship to study landscape design in England. Additionally, she was the co-editor in chief of The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants and served on the boards of many professional and cultural organizations, including Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
She received the Honorary Life Member Award from the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta and, when she retired in 2005, Brooklyn Botanic Garden named the Judith D. Zuk Magnolia Plaza at the Garden in her honor. There is also a magnolia cultivar developed by the Garden named in her honor.
A celebration of her life is planned for Sept. 23 at the Botanic Garden.
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