Donors of the NC State Science and Agriculture Scholarship

The Donors are both graduates of West Rowan High School and grew up in the area. The husband graduated with honors from NC State with a B.S in Chemical Engineering. He spent his entire career with a major agricultural chemical company, retiring as North America Quality Manager after more than 40 years with the company. He was recruited by the company during his senior year at NC State. Immediately following graduation, the newly married Donors headed off to Alabama for his first assignment, after which they spent time in Louisiana, and subsequently in Iowa, before returning to North Carolina in retirement. Among his professional accomplishments, the Donor was instrumental in evaluating and modifying production lines and processes to maximize throughput leading to increased profitability for the company. The Donor was a key member of teams that developed several herbicide formulations that significantly changed farming practices around the world. He was also a recognized expert in the area of interfacial micro encapsulation, teaching seminars in Belgium, France, Italy and Princeton, New Jersey.

The Couple’s rural upbringing was centered around hard work and a frugal lifestyle. The husband began working during his sixth-grade year, planting and staking tomatoes for a local farmer. It was physically demanding work, but because of his conscientiousness to find his own path, he was able to save enough money to later buy a car of his own and pay cash for it. He was also able to put away enough savings over the years to pay his own way through NC State, with assistance from a local chemical company scholarship, and graduated in four years with no debt. The Couple is committed to helping young people from backgrounds similar to theirs achieve their educational aspirations. That is why they established a need-based endowed scholarship several years ago. They continue to contribute to the fund so that it can provide even more significant financial support for students with financial need.