10/31/2008

Huffman Scholarship in Meat Science Established at Auburn University

AUBURN, Ala. — A new scholarship that has been established in Auburn University’s College of Agriculture honors a world-famous Auburn meat scientist and will benefit future generations of meat scientists.

The Dr. Dale Huffman Endowed Scholarship in Animal Sciences was created in the name of AU Department of Animal Sciences professor emeritus Dale Huffman, who joined the Auburn faculty in 1963 and spent the next 32 years teaching and conducting research. His work at Auburn garnered international attention and led to breakthroughs in lean ground beef technology, including the development of McDonalds’ McLean Deluxe and McRib sandwiches.

Following his retirement from Auburn in 1995, Huffman continued to work as a consultant to the fast food and food safety industries. He retired completely in 2004.

Through the years, Huffman won many national and international meat science awards, including the American Meat Science Association’s Signal Service Award, Distinguished Meat Processing Award and prestigious R.C. Pollock Award. He was inducted into the Alabama Livestock Hall of Fame in 1990 and in 2007 was added to the AU Agricultural Alumni Association’s Hall of Honor. He also has been honored as Man of the Year in Service to Agriculture by Progressive Farmer magazine and recognized by Southern Living magazine as a “Southerner who made a difference.” In addition, Huffman is a two-time winner of the Institute of Food Technologists’ Food Technology Industrial Achievement Award.

The new scholarship was established by Huffman’s son, Randy, a 1986 graduate of Auburn’s Department of Animal Sciences who now is president of the American Meat Institute Foundation in Washington, D.C. In his current position, the younger Huffman manages the foundation’s research initiatives, industry best practices development and educational programming. AMI was established in 1906 and is the oldest and largest trade association representing the North American meat industry.

Randy Huffman attributes much of his own success, both in meat science and in life, to his father and to Auburn University. Establishing the scholarship endowment to help support future meat scientists was his opportunity to pay tribute to both.

“I wanted to honor my dad because of what he has meant to me and my career,” he said. “I also felt that I needed to give back to Auburn, specifically to the meat science program in animal sciences, because it is where I got the passion for the industry and learned the basics that have served me well in my career.

L. Wayne Greene, head of Auburn’s Department of Animal Sciences, noted the tremendous impact the elder Huffman had on the meat science industry during his life’s work at AU and said the Huffman scholarship will enhance the College of Agriculture’s ability to continue attracting and training tomorrow’s leaders of the dynamic field.

The first Huffman scholarship has been awarded to Matt Nunnelly, a senior from who is majoring in animal science and interested in pursuing a meat science career. Nunnelly is from Hoover, Ala.

Though Randy Huffman supplied the initial funds required to endow the scholarship and award it annually, additional funds will build the endowment and provide more scholarships. For information on contributing to the Dr. Dale Huffman Endowed Scholarship, contact the AU College of Ag Development office at 334-844-1475 or agdevelopment@auburn.edu.

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News from:

OFFICE OF AG COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 COMER HALL,
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
AUBURN, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact: Katie Jackson, 334-844-5887 or smithcl@auburn.edu