The Poultry Science Assn. (PSA) Foundation recently announced a $50,000 gift pledge over five years from Aviagen North America that was made during the 2017 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta, Ga.

The Aviagen Continuing Education Endowment will support poultry science students who are interested in attending graduate school for master of science, doctorate and doctor of veterinary medicine degrees.

“Aviagen acknowledges the critical need for talented young scientists in the poultry breeder and poultry production industries,” said Kevin McDaniel, president of Aviagen North America, a global poultry breeding company based in Huntsville, Ala.

The Aviagen Continuing Education Endowment will support an undergraduate student entering his or her junior year or a beginning graduate student and is renewable for the following year, subject to satisfactory academic progress. Preference will be given to students interested in the sciences necessary to continue at the graduate level in poultry science; these students are encouraged to apply for the Inaugural Aviagen Education Award. The endowment was made possible through the PSA Foundation "Charting Our Course — Securing Future Leadership for Poultry Campaign" (Capital Campaign).

“At Aviagen, we’re committed to encouraging upcoming generations of poultry professionals and helping them achieve their greatest potential,” McDaniel said. “The continuing education endowment is one concrete way we are able to contribute to their success.”

Nationwide student recruitment for the Aviagen Education Endowment Award is anticipated to begin in early spring of 2018, with the application process to be completed in the late spring. Aviagen North America and the PSA Foundation will announce the 2018 recipient during PSA’s annual meeting.

Capital Campaign

The Capital Campaign was launched by the PSA Foundation in January 2015 and aims to develop scientific leaders in subject matter areas such as poultry genetics, health and nutrition and food safety and quality for the poultry enterprise and allied industry. Funds of the Capital Campaign are used to award undergraduate internships, undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, travel grants and preceptor/mentoring grants.

The PSA Foundation is a charitable corporation affiliated with PSA with the primary purpose of advancing the founding principles of PSA. Since its founding in 2004, the PSA Foundation has worked to support a variety of initiatives, such as the Legacy Project that digitized and indexed issues published since 1906 of Poultry Science, one of PSA’s journals.

PSA is an association committed to research and the dissemination and application of knowledge that supports the poultry industry. The professional organization consists of approximately 1,700 members across the globe.