By Jordan Karnbach

UM communications

After more than two decades of cultivating the University of Mississippi campus into a nationally recognized showcase, Jeff McManus, is retiring.

McManus, director of landscape and solid waste services, retired Feb. 14, leaving behind a legacy of horticultural excellence brought to life in iconic locations such as the Grove or the Circle.

“Jeff is a rock star in the green industry with a passion for growing both landscapes and people,” said Nathan Lazinsky, assistant director of landscape services. “Jeff’s unwavering commitment to excellence has left a lasting legacy, inspiring future generations to uphold the highest standards in landscape management and campus beautification.”

Since his arrival in 2000, Ole Miss has regularly been recognized for its outstanding beauty, including two Grand Awards from the Professional Grounds Management Society – sometimes called the “national championship of landscaping” – in 2002 and 2013. Numerous publications, including USA Today, Princeton Review and Newsweek, named it as the nation’s most beautiful college campus.

The university’s landscaping staff maintains more than 1,000 acres on the central campus. They plant an average of 20,000 seasonal color plants, 10,000 tulip bulbs and 10,000 daffodils annually, as well as more than 200 new trees.

Under McManus’ leadership, the Department of Landscape Services:

• Conducted a comprehensive tree inventory of the campus’ trees, supported by an Urban and Community Forestry Grant from the Mississippi Forestry Commission
• Developed a Tree Trail, with a downloadable map, that takes visitors to 25 significant examples of campus trees
• Developed and launched the Landscape University systematic training program that has transformed employees from green thumb beginners to landscape experts.
• Developed and launched the Landscape Champion leadership training program that has transformed landscape staff into leadership roles.
• Doubled the acreage that it maintains across campus, including the Ole Miss Golf Course and the University-Oxford Airport.
• Collaborated and launched the first SEC Landscape Leadership Conference in 2019, hosted by Ole Miss.

McManus grew up on a farm, but the long hours helping with chores didn’t factor into his initial career plans. First, he ventured into the world of computer technology while studying at Auburn University. When that failed, marketing was next on the docket.

“When you make an F in marketing, and that’s your major, maybe you ought to consider doing something else,” McManus said. “At the same time, I was taking a class, and I took an elective in horticulture because my brother owned a garden center near Atlanta, and I wanted to know some of the plant names because I was going to work there in the summer.”

That class was pivotal. Not only did McManus find his calling, but he also gained a mentor, Harry Ponder, the Auburn professor who led the class.

“Not only did he know his plant names, but he also knew his student’s names and he used them,” McManus said.

McManus admired his professor’s remarkable memory and tried to mimic that lesson when he took his passion for plants to Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando, Florida, where he landed his first job as a landscape project manager. Soon, McManus accepted a position a little farther south at Turnberry Isle Resort and Club in North Miami.

While McManus describes his time in Florida as filled with great people and teamwork, the call of the South – “grits, sweet tea and biscuits” – pulled him back home.

A phone call from Ponder 12 years after their first meeting presented an opportunity: a chance to transform Ole Miss into “the most beautiful campus in America.” This vision, shared with then-Chancellor Robert Khayat, convinced McManus to pack his bags for Oxford.

“I would not be here if it wasn’t for Robert Khayat,” McManus said. “I realized I didn’t have to always drive a tractor; always manually doing the work.

“Once I saw there was leadership opportunities, I felt like this was a good spot for me.”

Along the way, he has earned several regional and national honors, including:

 

• Auburn University’s College of Agriculture 2016 Outstanding Alumni Award for Horticulture
• The UM 2016 Outstanding Staff Member for executive administrative/managerial
• The Professional Grounds Management Society’s 2016 President’s Award
• Serving as president, president-elect, vice president and treasurer for PGMA.

 

McManus cultivated the leadership lessons he had learned through his landscaping team at the university.

“He (Khayat) gave me permission for us to start looking at everything through the eyes of greatness,” McManus said. “Let’s challenge our teams to go beyond what they might imagine instead of thinking the status quo of “there’s just a little bit more grass to cut.”

McManus has hosted several leadership training workshops on campus and often speaks at businesses and conferences on leadership. He also has written three books: “Pruning Like a Pro” (2015), a how-to guide, and “Growing Weeders Into Leaders” (2017) and “Cultivate: Tailgate Huddles to Grow Stronger Teams” (2022), both leadership development tutorials.

“In 2018, I was thrilled to come to Ole Miss as the new director of facilities management, where I have had the opportunity to work alongside Jeff for six years as a friend and colleague,” said Dean Hansen, director of the Facilities Management Department. “I am sad to see him retire from Ole Miss but know that he will continue to lead and inspire as he takes on his new role in Austin, Texas.”

“Inspiring” and “peaceful” are two words McManus uses to describe how people want to feel when they step foot on the Ole Miss campus. The importance of consistency in the landscaping design around campus is an integral part of what McManus achieved during his years in Oxford.

“We’re creating this space for people to create the pictures,” McManus said. “Famous photographer Ansel Adam once said, ‘You don’t take a photograph, you make it.’ In landscape service we want to make great spaces for great photographs.”

Everyone’s last chance to get a personal tour with him at the grand finale of the Landscaping Camp.

This two-day camp offers a unique opportunity for attendees to dive deep into the world of landscaping and gardening. Each participant will receive a signed copy of McManus’s book at the Opening Dinner and Book Signing. Activities include a guided tour of the stunning Ole Miss campus, insightful presentations from industry leaders, and educational seminars. Cost is $350.

To register, visit https://oxfordms.com/retire-in-oxford/landscaping-camp/.