Duncan Named Penn State Honorary Alumnus in 2000

Charles Duncan, vice president of research and development at Hershey Foods Corporation has been named a Penn State Honorary Alumnus. Chuck, an ardent supporter of Penn State, the College of Agricultural Sciences, and the Food Science Program, has taken a leadership role at the University for two decades. Chuck brings an impressive educational background and business experience to his work at Penn State. After he received a bachelor of science degree in secondary education from the University of Tennessee, he continued on completing a M.S. in bacteriology from Louisiana State University, and a Ph.D. in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin. He has published more than 70 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals. His leadership helped establish a multimillion-dollar endowment of the cocoa research program through the American Cocoa Research Institute.

Chuck lent considerable guidance in developing and funding the much-needed Food Science Building campaign. Serving on the Food Industry Executive Committee in support of improvements of facilities in food science, and as chairman of the Government Liaison Subcommittee, he traveled frequently in support of the project. "His efforts are such that people assume he is a Penn State alumnus," and they have far-reaching effects on the opportunities for students and faculty members at Penn State.