Dr. Nancy Creamer named distinguished professor

Dr. Nancy Creamer, N. C. State University horticulture professor and director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, will occupy one of two endowed chairs made possible with a $3.15 million endowment established last year by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The endowment, announced last November, funds the creation of endowed chairs at N.C. State University and at N.C. A&T State University and supports Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) efforts to increase production, processing, distribution and consumption of local, sustainably raised foods in North Carolina.

As holder of one of the chairs, Creamer becomes a distinguished professor of sustainable and community-based food systems.

Creamer joined the N.C. State faculty in 1995 as an assistant professor and North Carolina Cooperative Extension specialist in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Horticultural Science. She became coordinator of the CEFS organic unit in 1997 and was named director in 2000.

CEFS, located in Goldsboro, is a partnership of N.C. State University, North Carolina A&T State University and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Its mission is to develop and promote food and farming systems that protect the environment, strengthen local communities and provide economic opportunities in North Carolina and beyond.

As one of the nation’s largest centers for the study of sustainable food and farming systems, CEFS has focused on advancing the scientific research base necessary to enable farmers to adapt successfully to emerging ecological issues and market trends. CEFS has also developed a strong outreach and education program that reaches all North Carolina residents.

CEFS is committed to building North Carolina’s sustainable, local and organic food economy as a way to stimulate economic development and job creation, bolster the viability of local farms and fisheries and help address diet-related health problems.

Through its Farm to Fork initiative and a State Action Guide (From Farm to Fork: A Guide to Building North Carolina’s Sustainable Local Food Economy), CEFS has energized and connected thousands of North Carolinians and hundreds of local, regional and statewide organizations that share this commitment.

— Dave Caldwell