New Ag Ed Scholarship Honors Retired Teacher

A new scholarship offered by CALS’ Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences will help juniors and seniors who want to be agricultural teachers but face financial or other obstacles. The scholarship honors Fred William Manley, a 1959 graduate who devoted 41 years of his life to teaching.

At a Feb. 26 ceremony attended by friends and family of Manley and donor Larry Coats, CALS Associate Dean John Dole noted that the endowment is intended “to recognize the positive influence Fred has had on Larry’s education and career and to show the impact that teachers can have on their students – and, through them, the world.”

Manley and Coats were both encouraged by their ag teachers to pursue higher education, and both did so at NC State. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education in 1959, Manley spent 41 years in public education.

Coats, who earned his bachelor’s in biological and agricultural engineering at NC State in 1967, went on to law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and became a patent attorney. He hopes that students helped by the scholarship will be inspired and committed to making a difference in their students’ lives, as Manley had done for him.

Manley’s “continuous, unwavering encouragement and inspiration” convinced Coats to pursue higher education and helped him build leadership skills such as public speaking.

“By instinct (Manley) knew there was more to teaching than just teaching. … It entailed more than a classroom. He saw teaching as an opportunity to make a difference in students’ lives,” Coats said. “He was enthusiastic. He had boundless energy. He was never at a loss for words — and still isn’t.”

“He was intent on making a difference,” Coats added. “And he did.”

Learn more about donor and alumnus Larry Coats.