Lake Wheeler Road farm in front of downtown Raleigh

CALS Impact Report 2022

In 2022, donors like you came together to lend their support and empowered us to continue to create unique, memorable, and extraordinary experiences for students, faculty, and staff. You inspire us to continue to do great work.

Giving Back to Her Pack

There is often a story or a personal connection behind the gifts Sarah Ash, professor emerita for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has given to CALS and North Carolina State University over the years. An endowed professorship in honor of her parents; a scholarship named for a woman who lived nearly 100 years ago; and support for study abroad that recognizes how powerful that experience can be for students from rural counties and all students in general – Ash can clearly define the reasons for her gifts.

Learn why she gave

The Gift of Perspective

It’s the mid-1970s and Ph.D. candidate Tom Wentworth steps off the plane into Costa Rica for a two-month course. It is the first time the plant ecology student has ever been out of the United States, and he is awestruck. “It was just such a great eye opener,” says Wentworth, now an NC State Emeritus Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology. He and his wife, Linda Rudd are now giving to NC State students and professors through a gift to the Research Pack Abroad Program. The gift will fund student and faculty travel to ensure that the opportunity for students to work in labs abroad is a dream they can realize.

Discover how his gift will help faculty and students

Student Impact

Golden LEAF Foundation Scholar Shines

Each year the Golden LEAF Foundation invests money, time and programs to aid and develop 25,000 North Carolina students. One of this year’s recipients was sophomore Amear Moftah, a double major in crop science and agribusiness. The Morresboro-native received a scholarship that allowed him to focus on his studies and gain valuable leadership skills in the Lead 4 Excellence program. “Golden LEAF’s mission is to reduce the economic disadvantages that many rural communities face through education and empowerment of students like us. They are achieving that everyday by giving students like me the opportunities we need to grow into professionals that bring economic opportunities back to all the countless little hometowns that made us who we are today,” Moftah said.

Learn about the Scholars program

Bryan Blinson and his wife, at a NC State football game

A Lifetime with Cattle: Bryan Blinson Honored as CALS Distinguished Alumnus

CALS alumnus Bryan Blinson purchased his first cow when he was only six years old.

“We went to the bank and took out a small loan,” says Blinson. “My payments were $27 a month. I collected bottles and did odd jobs to pay it.” As an animal science graduate, Blinson’s involvement with cattle has continued throughout his career. Currently, he’s the executive director of the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association, a role he has held for nearly two decades. Since then, Blinson has been focused on creating local youth programs across the state while also managing his cattle farm with his wife, Beth, in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

Learn more about his life-long passion

Day of Giving: 2022

Play with Your Food and Invest in People

“Plays well with food” isn’t officially on Erica B. Hanchey’s resume, but it should be. A food scientist with a penchant for mentoring and giving back, Hanchey earned her BS in Food Science from NC State in 2001 and has been playing with food ever since. The other tenet she learned at NC State: it’s worth it to invest in people and education.

Read Hanchey’s full story

Agriculture to Medicine: Dr. Phillip Snider Honored as CALS Distinguished Alumnus

Looking for opportunities to refine yourself and treating everyone with respect and goodwill are life lessons College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumnus Dr. Phillip Snider lives by daily. A graduate of the Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry, Snider currently teaches at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) at its Auburn, Alabama, campus.

Explore his career path

NC State Extension

Bertie County extension agent Jarette Hurry in a field of soy beans.

A Food Corps volunteer shows a group of children vegetables just pulled from the ground. — Molly Zedd exhibited her goat in Hyde County’s virtual livestock show.

Research and Industry Impact

A group of people holding up NC State Wolfears — Left to right: CALS Dean Richard Linton, Patricia Curtis, Trey Braswell, Aaron Kiess, Ken Anderson and Sonia Murphy.

Aaron Kiess: Focusing on Direct Industry Impact

Aaron Kiess, newly named Braswell Family Distinguished Professor in Commercial Layer Management, Physiology, or Nutrition, looks forward to conducting impactful research that will benefit the commercial layer industry in North Carolina. Read the full story.

N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative

John Radcliff (left) and John Holshouser (right) of JTI — JTI Partners with N.C. PSI to Advance Sustainability and Innovation in Agriculture

JTI Partners with N.C. PSI to Advance Sustainability and Innovation in Agriculture

JTI Leaf Services has been a longtime partner of NC State in research, teaching and extension. Now they’re a partner in sustainability and innovation through the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative. Learn about the partnership.