Nelle Hotchkiss, chief operating officer of N.C. Electric Cooperatives and a member of the CAES Advisory Board

The gift will be used for two purposes: $3,000 will add to the Dean’s Excellence Fund, which is used for student scholarships and faculty professional development; and $17,000 will fund the CAES’s scholarship endowment.

“N.C. Electric Cooperatives recognizes the CAES for its key role in N.C. agriculture, and we are proud to help the college further its mission of educating the next generation of leaders in agriculture,” said Nelle Hotchkiss, chief operating officer of N.C. Electric Cooperatives and a member of the CAES Advisory Board.

N.C. Electric’s gift brings CAES closer to its goal of establishing a $500,000 endowment to be used for student support, according to Dean Mohamed Ahmedna.

“We thank N.C. Electric Cooperatives for their generous gift and strong support for the CAES,” Ahmedna said. “Their most recent gift is just a first step in their continuing effort to help the college achieve its mission and meet its financial goals.

“This endowment will help us to ensure that our diverse and talented students graduate ready to enter the agriculture and food work force.”

N.C. Electric Cooperatives is a family of organizations that support 26 rural, member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives throughout the state, serving more than one million N.C. homes and businesses in 93 counties. Electric cooperatives provide electricity to rural areas pf the state.

For more information on how to make a gift to the college, contact Justin Lewter, director of development, at 336-285-3055 or jmlewter1@ncat.edu.