College honors 2011-2012 Distinguished Alumni and Outstanding Alumni
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences announced Dr. S. Elizabeth George and H. Connor Kennett Jr. as its 2011-2012 Distinguished Alumni at the College’s annual Alumni Awards Reception Sept. 30. Dr. Johnny Wynne, College dean, presided at the reception held at the N.C. State University Club, where the College’s Outstanding Alumni and Outstanding Young Alumni for 2011 were also honored.
George and Kennett were recognized for their outstanding career achievements, which have brought honor to the College, and for their commitment to the land-grant principle of service to community, state and nation.
George, who resides in Fairfax Station, Va., is widely considered one the nation’s leading authorities on chemical and biological warfare. She serves as the director of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Directorate for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. George previously served as deputy division head of the Chemical and Biological Countermeasures Division in the Science and Technology Directorate, Department of Homeland Security. A native of Austin, Texas, she received her 1979 master’s degree and 1984 Ph.D. in microbiology from N.C. State, after receiving her bachelor’s degree in biology from Virginia Tech.
Kennett, who lives in Sanford, served as director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Poultry Division from 1973 to his retirement in 1988, the longest tenure of any Poultry Division director. A native of Durham, he earned his N.C. State bachelor’s degree in poultry science in 1954. Following his graduation, he served two years in the U.S. Army before joining the USDA.
Widely considered a major contributor to the development of the U.S. egg products industry, Kennett worked to implement and administer three major pieces of legislation impacting the poultry industry: the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Egg Products Inspection Act and the Egg Research and Consumer Information Act.
Along with the presentations to George and Kennett at the reception, the College honored the following graduates (listed with the CALS department from which they graduated).
2011-2012 Outstanding Alumni
- Roger Black, Crop Science
- Michael Waldvogel, Entomology
- Anne Fratzke Coan, Soil Science
- Henry E. Schaffer, Genetics
- Karl F. Hehl Jr., Agricultural Institute
- Ronald W. Shearon, Agricultural and Extension Education
- Anita P. Flick, Biology
- James W. Jones, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
- W. Steven Otwell, Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
- Mary K. Muth, Agricultural and Resource Economics
- Jack H. Britt, Animal Science
- Danny R. McConnell, Horticultural Science
2011-2012 Outstanding Young Alumni
- Jennifer Roney Gwyn, Agricultural and Extension Education
- Paul Hampton Zigas, Biochemistry
– Terri Leith
