David and Mary Ashcraft

The Rector/Ashcraft Endowed Scholarship was established in 1988 by David and Mary Ashcraft to honor their parents.

Mr. David Ashcraft had never toured a University, let alone heard of paper science and engineering, when an International Paper employee from his hometown convinced him to come to NC State. Though he grew up around paper mills, Mr. Ashcraft had no intention of working in the industry. He believed that the petrochemical track was more suited to his interests, and it certainly appealed to his nose, more than paper. While at NC State, he had an internship and co-op experiences with Tennessee River (now PCA) in Counce, TN; Union Camp (now IP) in Franklin, VA; and Eastex (now WestRock) in Evadale, TX. His favorite classes were ChE 205 and calculus.

David and Mary met while in Thompson Theater. He was the accompanist for the choir and Mary sang alto. Their first date was a bagpipe concert in Reynolds Coliseum.

It was not until his senior year that he found his niche in the paper industry, so eventually he took a job with Eastex Inc. and moved to Texas after graduation in 1968. From there, he climbed the ladder of success until he secured a position as the group vice-president for bleached paperboard. During his time working as VP, Eastex merged with Temple-Inland, and during the 1996 transition, the management reconstructed and Mr. Ashcraft was left without a place at Temple-Inland. David and Mary shared a dream of one day returning to their beloved city—Mr. Ashcraft wanted to be a forest biomaterials professor and envisioned himself staying heavily involved in the college.

He and his wife fulfilled their dream and moved back to the Tarheel State. Starting in 1999, Mr. Ashcraft taught undergraduate and graduate students part-time in the spring, and was an active recruiter and pulp and paper foundation member in the fall. He taught for six years, and in 2006 was named Executive Director Development for the College of Natural Resources. This included positions in the Paper Foundation and the Forestry Foundation as well as the responsibility of managing Hoffman Forest, NC State’s own operating forest.

By 2008, the Paper and Forestry Foundations merged into the Natural Resources Foundation and Mr. Ashcraft was in charge of managing the various assets and scholarships associated with the college. He was also deeply involved in the discussions around the sale of a timber deed at Hoffman Forest.

Mr. Ashcraft has retired from NC State and he and Mary currently spend their time volunteering with NC Baptists on Missions while traveling around the globe to continue positively impacting people’s lives.

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