Dr. Steve and Mrs. Lou McKeand
The McKeand Family Scholarship was established by Dr. Steve and Mrs. Lou McKeand.
Steve gets funny looks when he tells people what he does for a living. “They have one of two reactions: stunned silence, or a giggle,” he says. It’s not easy being a tree breeder, it seems. But it’s no laughing matter, either.
Dr. McKeand is a professor of Forestry and Environmental Resources in the College of Natural Resources at NC State University and former director of the university’s Cooperative Tree Improvement Program. He is among a select group of scientists responsible for enhancing one of the nation’s most important natural resources — the estimated 39 million acres of planted pine forests stretching across the United States from central Texas to southern New Jersey.
Steve’s work has been vital, not just for giving loblolly and longleaf pine trees a genetic advantage in the face of threats such as diseases, pests, and a changing climate, but also for giving the owners of forest land a competitive advantage in the market.
In recognition of his successful efforts on both counts, Dr. McKeand received the Governor James E. Holshouser Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service from the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina System. The annual award was established in 2007 to encourage, identify, recognize and reward public service by faculty of the university system.
The Holshouser award prompted Steve and Lou to give back to NC State. Lou has been an integral part of Steve’s career as a devoted wife and mother who kept the family together during Steve’s days and weeks of travel each year. Lou was also a devoted teacher and mentor to thousands of high school students, and many of them continued their education as students at NC State. Lou was a science teacher at Millbrook High School in Raleigh for almost 30 years. When their youngest of four children started elementary school, Lou went back to school at NC State to finish her bachelor’s degree in Science Education. She completed her degree in 1989 and started teaching science at Millbrook. Lou was a National Board Certified Teacher in chemistry, and for most of her career, she taught chemistry to advanced placement, honors, and academic students. As a teacher and later as Science Department Chair, Lou collaborated with her peers to develop instructional practices allowing students to achieve the skills necessary to learn and understand science.
All the McKeand Family bleeds Wolfpack red true and true. Daughter Heather followed in her Mom’s footsteps and received her bachelor’s degree in Middle Grades Science Education from NC State. Heather teaches science at Washington Junior High School in Bentonville, AR. Theresa was the lone black sheep in the family, graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s of fine arts degree, but she is an ardent Wolfpack fan and is an art teacher at Rand Road Elementary School in Garner, NC. Anthony is a graduate of the turfgrass program in the Agricultural Institute at NC State and is Park Maintenance Supervisor for the town of Wake Forest, NC. Tim graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from NC State and is a lead specialist with Customer HD, a startup service in Raleigh, NC.
The entire McKeand family owes a great deal to NC State University. All learned from the outstanding faculty, staff, and students, and they want to give back via the McKeand Family Scholarship. To honor Lou’s tenure as a devoted teacher at Millbrook High School, priority is given to Millbrook graduates who want to pursue career opportunities in natural resources. As a teacher, researcher, and mentor of foresters and tree improvement specialists for 40 years at NC State, Steve wants to encourage students to consider careers in the management of forests and natural resources.
The scholarship is open to incoming freshmen in the College of Natural Resources with preferences for the award given to a student as follows:
1. Graduate of Millbrook High School who is studying Forest Management
2. Graduate of Millbrook High School who is enrolled in the Department of Forest Biomaterials
3. Graduate of Millbrook High School who is enrolled in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
4. Graduate of a rural North Carolina high school who is studying Forest Management
“Looking back, I can’t think of a career that could possibly have been more gratifying,” Dr. McKeand says. “The university and my college and department have provided me with the opportunity to be creative, to be innovative, to be practical, to work with students, to do research, and most importantly, to make a difference.”