The Cargill/Benevenga Undergraduate Research Endowment will provide support for undergraduate research experiences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison”s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

The endowment, funded with a $250,000 gift from Cargill, will support students in the Honors Degree Program, which is built around a series of courses and research experiences spanning the undergraduate career. One-half of the endowment awards will be designated to the Department of Animal Sciences and one-half will be presented across the College”s 22 departments.

In the CALS Honors Degree Program, freshmen participate directly in research through special programs or work experiences. Sophomores work on a research project, closely supervised by a faculty member. Juniors participate in the Junior Honors Seminar and prepare a research proposal, and seniors conduct honors thesis research, write a thesis and present their results at the College”s spring research forum. “The research experience allows undergraduate students to experience the excitement of discovery as they work with the College”s world-class scientists,” says CALS dean Elton Aberle.

The award is being made in honor of Norlin J. (Ben) Benevenga, a faculty member in the Department of Animal Sciences since 1966. Benevenga”s research has focused on amino acid nutrition, and has led to practical applications in the livestock industry and in human health care.

One of Benevenga”s fundamental philosophies is to conduct research projects that train students, not to simply use students to accomplish his research objectives. He was instrumental in founding the CALS honors program, which differs from other honors programs on the UW-Madison campus in that it is based on structured independent learning experiences. Faculty in the College view the independent learning experience as a unique one-on-one student/faculty learning opportunity based on original research.

Kent Ekstrom, senior vice-president of animal nutrition at Cargill, provided key leadership in arranging financial support for this project. This gift is part of the Cargill Higher Education Initiative, which involves partnerships between Cargill and core schools throughout the country that provide scientific and educational excellence in areas of interest to Cargill. According to Mark Murphy, manager of Cargill UW Community Relations, Cargill has provided gifts of more than $1 million to the UW-Madison to support programs throughout the campus that foster faculty excellence and support students.