William K. \u201cBill\u201d Collins Sr. (center) receives the Watauga Medal from Jimmy Clark, chair of the university\u2019s Board of Trustees, (l) and Chancellor Randy Woodson (r) on March 2, 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nCollins, a native of Vance County and resident of Raleigh, was the first in his family to go to college. He earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in agronomy \u2013 as 1954\u2019s Most Outstanding Senior in Agronomy \u2013 and a master\u2019s in plant breeding from NC State, before earning his Ph.D. in crop breeding at Iowa State. Collins joined the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences\u2019 faculty in 1966 and became known internationally as a tobacco and agronomy expert \u2013 a prolific and tireless author, advocate, trainer, educator, mentor and fundraiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe is a true leader in agriculture, known by so many people, in so many sectors \u2013 academia, government, corporations, extension offices and, most importantly, local family farms,\u201d Woodson said. \u201cHis list of awards and honors is lengthy, extraordinary even, and it includes being elected to the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Governor Pat McCrory in 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite technically retiring from fulltime university service twice, Collins \u2013 whose resume includes work as an extension specialist, holder of the Philip Morris Professorship, leader of the crop and soil sciences department, coordinator of tobacco programs and senior director of development \u2013 maintains a campus office, travels regularly for agriculture efforts, and continues to contribute to university advancement and leadership programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2014 CALS Distinguished Alumnus Award winner and the 2012 Alumni Association Meritorious Service Award winner, Collins has chaired the Forever Club and served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, the NC Cooperative Extension Agricultural Programs Foundation Board, the Park Alumni Center Docent Volunteers, and the Faculty and Staff Giving Advisory Council. He is a founding member of the State Club, a lifetime member of Friends of the Library, a member of the Association of Retired Faculty, the University Club and the Friends of the Gregg museum, and an honorary lifetime member of the Alumni Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collins and his wife, Ann, are members of NC State\u2019s Charles William Dabney Lifetime Giving Society and R. Stanhope Pullen Society. They have led establishment of endowments for a distinguished professorship in tobacco research and extension and for a tobacco agronomist research, teaching and extension position, and provided support over six decades for NCSU Libraries, the Caldwell Fellows, JC Raulston Arboretum, 4-H, athletics, and other scholarships and programs across campus. A few years ago, the couple\u2019s three children established a Caldwell Fellows endowment to honor them and their love for the university, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, students and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collins said that NC State has been the key to his success \u2013 and showing him that success has much more to do with developing solid values and relationships with people than with financial wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to thank all the people who helped me get here,\u201d Collins said at the ceremony. \u201cI thought I\u2019d arrived in paradise when I got to campus because of all the opportunity I found. It helped me so much in my choices in life. I know the members of the Watauga Club would want us to make sure kids still have those opportunities and those choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jenkins, a native of Asheboro and resident of Charlotte, also has deep roots with NC State. His father was an alumnus who worked for the NC Cooperative Extension Service and loved attending Wolfpack athletics events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jenkins graduated from NC State in 1968 with a degree in textile chemistry. He earned an MBA from the University of Alabama and went on to a successful career in the financial industry, highlighted by 38 years with the Wachovia Company that included service as vice chairman and president of the General Banking Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n