Written by Sara Awad

In a recent visit to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Fortune 200 company Altria continued its support of the college by funding numerous projects and programs.

The funding from Altria — the parent company for several market leaders in the U.S. tobacco industry, such as Philip Morris USA – spanned seven projects and programs. The largest amount went to academic programs.

Kim Foley, Altria’s new university programs coordinator for the Leaf Procurement organization, presented the check to various faculty and staff during a “meet and greet” on May 24, noting that the partnership contributes to the company’s sustainability.

“Continuing to support tobacco academic programs, extension, and research is vital as our industry changes,” Foley said.

CALS Associate Dean for Research Steve Lommel thanked the company for the “enduring relationship,” which started several decades ago.

“NC State is currently committed to tobacco and will be in the future,” Lommel said. “We have been hiring great faculty to move forward with tobacco research; I am proud of this relationship.”

CALS Coordinator of Tobacco Programs Loren Fisher praised the breadth of the support, which funds all three areas of the college: research, academics and extension.

“I look at the list [of projects] and it spans a wide range of university programs and activities, and it is that way every year,” Fisher said.

Bill Collins, an emeritus professor of crop science and former coordinator of tobacco programs, said the continued funding helped retain a core of extension professionals that could have moved to research or other areas.

NC State Extension Director Rich Bonanno also thanked Altria and said the funds are crucial to how the college gets research out into the public.