Media Contacts: Catherine Maxwell, director of development for the N.C. Agricultural Research Service, 919-513-8294 or catherine_maxwell@ncsu.edu
Danielle Jany, Monsanto Co., 314-694-2478 or danielle.c.jany@monsanto.com

WHAT: North Carolina State University and Monsanto Co. will make official a $675,000 grant to support the university’s Center for Plant Breeding and Applied Genomics in a signing event on Thursday, Aug. 30. Media are invited to attend.

The Monsanto grant will fund five plant breeding graduate fellowships per year over the next three years, as well as a leadership-training program for plant breeding graduate students.

WHO: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences officials, including Dean Johnny Wynne and Dr. Charles Stuber, director of the center, along with Ted Crosbie, Monsanto's vice president of global plant breeding, will sign the agreement and hold a question-and-answer session.

WHEN: Thursday, August 30, 2007; 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

WHERE: The JC Raulston Arboretum, 4415 Beryl Road in Raleigh. Refreshments will be served. Rain or shine.

CONTACT: For more information about the signing event, please contact Catherine Maxwell at 919-513-8294 or catherine_maxwell@ncsu.edu. To learn more about the NC State Plant Breeding Program, visit http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/breeding/. For additional information about Monsanto Co. visit www.monsanto.com or contact Danielle Jany at 314-694-2478 or danielle.c.jany@monsanto.com.

Written by:
Suzanne Stanard, 919-513-3126 or suzanne_stanard@ncsu.edu