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3CABNR: SUSTAINABLE SCIENCE FOR LIFE.

ag.unr.edu/newsletter n fall 2015

Wolf Pack Meats' manager Mike Holcomb helps students during the

2015 meat judging contest.

By Ralph Phillips and Lisa Riley

Legacy gift expected to be largest in CABNR history

The University of Nevada, Reno Foundation in conjunction with the CABNR signed gift agreements in June with an anonymous donor to fully endow

two academic Chair positions. The gift includes funding to support associated laboratory renovations and/or construction and graduate research positions in two disciplines: Diet and Disease Prevention and Meat Science. “When realized upon the donor’s passing, this legacy gift is expected to be the largest in the College’s history and will be one of the larger gifts to a single academic entity in the University’s history,” said John Carothers, executive director of the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation and vice president for Development and Alumni Relations.

The gift will enable CABNR to attract and retain distinguished scholars

for the tenure-track positions, one with a background in nutritional biochemistry and one in meat sciences. The initiatives supported by the endowments will focus on

biochemical research that contributes to primary disease prevention and promote research into the dietary and health benefits of meats and animal fats, respectively.

“The College has not received a gift of this magnitude since the 1950s, when the philanthropist Max C. Fleischmann donated a very large sum to

construct the Fleischmann Agriculture Building, where we are still housed,” said Bill Payne, CABNR’s Dean. “We are honored that the donor has chosen to entrust this gift to us, for it recognizes the strength of our faculty and the College’s role in nutrition research and the sustainable production of healthy food.”

The Endowed Chair in Diet and Disease Prevention will help catalyze a research cluster that significantly

influences students in nutrition and biochemistry, providing for a

broader scientific perspective in

disease prevention for future health providers than the current nationwide approach to disease provides. It is anticipated that breakthroughs in nutritional biochemistry will revolutionize approaches to disease prevention with a goal, over time, of modern nutritional biochemistry helping to prevent most of the chronic inflammatory diseases that currently plague the United States.

The Endowed Chair in Meat Science will have a primary focus on the metabolism of the essential fatty acids and the importance of meats and animal fats in the maintenance of human health. The position will help raise awareness and educate the public on the dietary and health benefits of beef and, in doing so, help sustain the industry in Nevada. “The endowment will enable CABNR to become a leader in research and teaching related to the understanding of the role of dietary meat products in human health and will serve to train and educate students in the medical professions on the importance of a well-balanced diet for many years to come,” said Chris Pritsos, Associate Dean for Research.

The College operates Wolf Pack Meats, a leading research, education, and extension USDA inspected facility. The goal of Wolf Pack Meats is to train students in the meat industry, conduct research in meat science and be as responsive as possible to the local industry.

The departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Agriculture, Nutrition & Veterinary Science serve over 1070 students. Students from these programs go into a variety of careers with a great many of them entering in the biomedical, nutrition and agricultural fields.

To learn more about supporting CABNR, please contact Ralph Phillips, director of development, (775) 784-4390 or rphillips@unr.edu. To learn more about the Nevada Legacy Society and planned giving at the University, please contact Lisa Riley, director of planned giving, (775) 682-6017 or lriley@unr.edu. J