USPOULTRY Foundation awards grant to Texas A&M

Texas A&M University recently received a $34,766 student recruiting grant from the USPOULTRY Foundation. The grant was made possible by an endowing gift from Tyson Foods. The check was presented by John Henry Holloway and Morris Hill, Tyson Foods, and Matt Lawson, Cobb-Vantress, to Dr. David Caldwell, professor and head, Poultry Science Department at Texas A&M. James Grimm, executive vice president of the Texas Poultry Federation, assisted with the check presentation, along with several students from Texas A&M.

“On behalf of the students, faculty and staff of the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the USPOULTRY Foundation for its continued support. The programs we have developed to recruit and train students with interests in careers in the commercial poultry industry would be substantially hindered without the support of the USPOULTRY Foundation and companies like Tyson Foods,” said Dr. Caldwell.

The funds will be used to aggressively recruit future poultry science students at livestock shows and FFA judging contests, strengthen existing recruiting programs and identify new and creative methods for generating interest in poultry science among potential applicants. The overarching goal of the Texas A&M academic program is to recruit, retain and graduate the best and brightest students possible for long-term contributions to the commercial and allied industries.

The USPOULTRY Foundation board approved student recruiting grants totaling more than $230,600 to the six U.S. universities with poultry science departments and 20 other institutions with industry-related programs. The Foundation provides annual recruiting funds to colleges and universities to attract students to their poultry programs.