Alumni & Donor Profiles

  1. Sharon and Stan Joehlin talking with students at the 2019 Fall Scholarship Dinner

    Stan and Sharon Joehlin

    With a long history of generously supporting students at The Ohio State University, Stan and Sharon Joehlin are among the most steadfast donors to the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

    By providing four endowment funds in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), where Stan received his BS and MS in 1960, the couple has helped transform numerous lives over the years, and will continue to do so in perpetuity.

  2. Adam Sharp

    Adam Sharp

    As the next executive vice president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Adam Sharp recognizes the career skills he acquired at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

    “My experience at Ohio State definitely put me on the course into this role,” said Sharp (BS, Agricultural Communication, 1994), who takes over July 18 at the Ohio Farm Bureau, a grassroots membership organization that supports the food and farm community statewide.

    “What was really a key to being able to move into a successful career in agriculture was an undergraduate internship in Washington, D.C.,” Sharp said. A CFAES advisor had suggested the internship opportunity, which led to a temporary position and later a permanent job in Washington.

  3. Dr. Bill Pursch

    Dr. Bill Pursch

    Dr. Bill Pursch, of Springfield, Ohio, has traveled to 75 countries and all 50 states; his late wife, Lenore, traveled to 62 countries and 47 states. 

    “There is nothing like traveling abroad and interacting with other cultures,” he said after describing a diverse 33 years of service. 

    Dr. Pursch began serving in infantry in the Army, and later served two tours in Germany, two tours in Vietnam and one tour in Okinawa. He went to reinforce infantry when the Berlin Wall went up, and served as an escort officer for John F. Kennedy’s entourage.

  4. Dr. Bill Hildebolt

    Dr. Bill Hildebolt

    Remembering the assistance that he received at The Ohio State University motivated the late Bill Hildebolt, PhD, to give back to  the college, including gifts that established The Hazen and Anna Jane Hildebolt Preble County Scholarship (Fund #603185), The William and Sandra Hildebolt Food Science and Technology Hall of Distinction Endowment Fund (#643184) and Show Me the Data! (#315252), which benefits the CFAES student-run speaker series called Citation Needed.

  5. Dr. David Benfield

    Dr. David Benfield

    Secrest Arboretum is a cherished place of refuge for Dr. David A. Benfield.

    This motivated his generous gift, which helps the arboretum establish a prairie garden that will educate visitors about plants that grow on Ohio’s prairies.

  6. Lee Smith

    Lee Smith’s love of horses started in high school when he bought his first horse. This passion continued to grow, along with his involvement in horse breeding. Lee stood stallions and had three world champion stallions. Additionally, he had 40 broodmares and bred pleasure horses. He became the second all-time breeder of halter quarter horses nationally.

    Lee combined his passion for horses with his desire to give back by making the largest gift in the history of the Equine Program in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

  7. Dr. Rohini Desai Mulchandani

    Having an unusual upbringing and exhibiting uncommon initiative and resolve, Dr. Rohini Desai Mulchandani has broken barriers throughout a remarkable, inventive career and an impactful, generous life.

  8. Dr. Karen Mancl

    Demonstrating a devotion that transcends the intellectual and the occupational, Dr. Karen Mancl has made a planned gift that helped cement another research endowment in the field of wastewater treatment.

    The College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences appreciates the commitment from Dr. Mancl, herself a professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering and an internationally known expert on sewage treatment and water quality.

  9. John and Marilyn Miller

    When John and Marilyn Miller pledged $100,000 to the Food Engineering Research Laboratory Fund, he sought a matching donor.

    The idea came from Mr. Miller’s experiences with the Dublin AM Rotary Club. Members making charitable donations were able to double or even triple the impact of their generosity when they found organizations or individuals willing to match.

  10. Pat Brundige

    New Endowment to Ohio 4-H Honors Dr. Bobby Moser

    Pat Brundige is a very special donor who not only recognizes the impact that our 4-H programs have on youth and volunteers, but she recognizes the need for research to continually strengthen and improve Ohio 4-H.

    In honor of Dr. Bobby Moser’s lifetime commitment to Ohio State University Extension, Ohio 4-H and the Land Grant mission of outreach, Pat Brundige has made a very significant transformational gift to create an endowment to support research in youth development.

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