The dean’s ice cream is . . .

There are certain perks that go along with being dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences – like ice cream.

The college is the home, after all, of Howling Cow ice cream. So if you’re the dean of the college, you can have your own ice cream.

Dean Richard Linton commissioned the folks at the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences Feldmeier Dairy Processing Lab in Schaub Hall, where Howling Cow is made, to create the dean’s ice cream.

The dean settled on two finalist flavors:
Ice Cream A – dark chocolate, tart cherries and white chocolate swirl or
Ice Cream B – dark chocolate, tart cherries, chocolate chunks and marshmallow swirl.

To determine which flavor would be the dean’s ice cream, Linton turned to students. On an unseasonably cool Tuesday in late April, approximately 100 gallons of Howling Cow ice cream – 50 gallons each of A and B – were hauled to the brickyard, and students were invited to assess the two flavors.

It turns out it’s fairly easy to draw a crowd of students with free ice cream. Students were given sample cups of each type of ice cream and asked to vote for their favorite. The result: more students preferred Ice Cream B, dark chocolate, tart cherries, chocolate chunks and marshmallow swirl.

But the story does not end here. Students were also asked to suggest names for the dean’s ice cream. The name has not yet been determined. At least if the dean has decided on a name, he’s not saying yet.

Another student tasting is planned for the fall, and the name will be revealed at that time. Dean Linton plans to challenge N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson, who also has his own Howling Cow ice cream flavor, to a taste off. The chancellor’s ice cream is called Wolf Tracks, and it’s a vanilla and chocolate ice cream swirl with fudge and peanut butter.

On the brickyard again, students will be given samples of the dean’s and the chancellor’s ice creams and asked to declare a winner. The name of the dean’s ice cream will be revealed at the taste off.

— Dave Caldwell