Faculty Profiles

Dr. Richard Ludwig

Dr. Richard Ludwig teaches Landscape Design for the Ashworth Career School. An experienced college educator, Dr. Ludwig has an extensive background in horticulture, landscape design and garden center management.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Ludwig has been the program director at one of the larger collegiate horticulture programs in the South. His many awards include Outstanding Educator, Excellence in Education, Green Industry Educator of the Year and more. He has authored a collegiate text on Landscape Design and is currently working on a second book, Practical Green Landscape Design.

In addition to teaching for Ashworth, Dr. Ludwig hosts a weekly television program on PBS. GardenSMART features expert horticulturists from fantastic garden locations who share their knowledge and gardening experiences to provide a wide range of practical, helpful advice.

Dr. Ludwig's ability to make complex gardening issues simple, interesting and easy to implement are sure to benefit his Ashworth students. "The opportunity to pass on these skills through distance education here at Ashworth is really exciting to me," he says.

Although a college teaching background could make for a stuffy speaker, Dr. Ludwig is far from it. His engaging manner and enthusiastic style have thrust him onto the national stage as a sought-after speaker and radio celebrity. Now retired from teaching as a face-to-face instructor, Dr. Ludwig says he is very excited to continue his work at Ashworth.

"I found out early on that I have a real love of gardening and being outside," he says. "That pushed me into teaching landscaping. I think the greatest thing about teaching is the opportunity to change someone else's life. It's amazing to watch someone who's interested in a program or a career grow and evolve as they move through the program."