NC State Wolfpack

Donn Ward Position: Faculty Representative

Donn Ward, Associate Head of the Food Science Department, is in his fourth year as faculty representative for the NC State athletics department. Ward has served on the Council on Athletics since 1994 and was named chair of the council in 2001 after three years as vice chair.

Ward’s work focuses on food safety issues with special emphasis on aquatic food products. His specific areas of interest are Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) education, and the development/implementation of HACCP systems in the food processing industry.

From 1992 to 1994, Ward served as chair of the Admissions Committee for NC State. A former coordinator of the Graduate Food Safety Faculty, he was also an elected member of the Faculty Senate from 1993-1994.

Ward’s national experience includes serving as vice chair of the Seafood HACCP Alliance Curriculum Development Committee since 1995. From 1994-2000, he was vice chair of NSF International’s Food Safety Advisory Council and was a member of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria in Foods from 1992-98. In 1994, he served on the U.S. Delegation to Codex Alimentarius Commission’s Food Hygiene Committee.

In 1997, Ward received the Vice-President Gore National Performance Review Hammer Award, recognizing the partnership of federal, state, academic and private organizations teamed in the Seafood HACCP Alliance. In 1998, he received the North Carolina Association of Extension Specialist Award for outstanding service and leadership in efforts to improve seafood safety. Ward was honored by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1999, garnering the Group Honor Award for Excellence.

Ward attended Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va., where he obtained his B.S. in biology in 1972. He earned his M.S. in food science and technology from the university in 1975 and in 1981 received his Ph.D. in food science and technology from Texas A&M University. Ward and his wife, Nora have two children: Shannon, a 2000 NC State graduate, and Brandon, who graduated from East Carolina and is currently in graduate school at USF.