NOVUS INTERNATIONAL AND WALTON FOUNDATION ENDOW UA PROFESSORSHIP

Thad Simons, president and COO of Novus International, Inc., presents a check for $250,000 to the University of Arkansas Friday (June 27) to match an equal amount from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. The matching gifts will endow the Novus International Professorship in Poultry Science in Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. With Simons are, from left, Novus International’s Head of Research and Development Chris Knight. Bumpers College Dean Gregory Weidemann, Simons, University Professor Park Waldroup and Poultry Science Department Head Walter Bottje. Waldroup will be the first holder of the new endowed professorship.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.- Novus International, Inc., President and COO Thad Simons presented a check for $250,000 Friday to University of Arkansas officials to complete an endowment for the new Novus International Professorship in Poultry Science.

The Novus gift will be matched by $250,000 from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation’s $300 million gift to the University in 2002. Investment returns on the total endowment of $500,000 will be used to enhance teaching, research and service programs, said Dean Gregory Weidemann of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Weidemann announced that University Professor Park Waldroup will be the first holder of the professorship.

"Dr. Waldroup is an outstanding teacher and researcher, and he is internationally known as a leading authority on poultry nutrition," the dean said.

"This prestigious professorship is a well-deserved honor for Dr. Waldroup, and it significantly raises the stature of our Center of Excellence for Poultry Science to have such a ringing endorsement from Novus International and the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation," Weidemann said.

Novus International, based in St. Louis, is a leading supplier of animal nutrition and health products.

"Novus is well known as an innovative, science-based company that supports university research," Weidemann said. "They share our commitment to meeting the needs of animal producers, and ultimately consumers, through research to develop products and systems that are economically and environmentally sound."

Simons said, "The future of the poultry industry rests in the hands of institutions such as the University of Arkansas and mentors such as Dr. Waldroup. Novus is proud to help pave the way for the next generation of agriculture innovators who must continue to improve meat production proficiency to feed the growing global population."

Novus International’s Head of Research and Development, Chris Knight, said, "Dr. Waldroup is at the pinnacle of his discipline as an internationally recognized poultry scientist. I am happy that Novus will continue to be associated with his work and the entire poultry science program at the University of Arkansas."

The endowment will increase research opportunities for graduate students and for undergraduates in the new Honors College, Weidemann said, in addition to strengthening research and extension programs in nutrition, metabolism and other growth and health issues.

Waldroup has been chairman of the Animal Nutrition Research Council, which develops standards for animal and human nutrition research. He has been a member since 1981 of the Poultry Nutrition Subcommittee of the National Research Council, which sets nutrition standards followed by the poultry industry worldwide. He is a fellow of the Poultry Science Association and has received many awards, including the first National Broiler Council Research Award.

Waldroup has been widely published in scientific research journals and has guided over 50 students to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. He has presented seminars in some 40 countries.

Poultry Science Department Head Walter Bottje said Waldroup’s research helps determine nutrition requirements of broiler chickens and turkeys as influenced by factors such as breed, environment and production system. He evaluates new and modified ingredients and provides data for computer models to emulate growth under various nutrition regimes. Recent research by Dr. Waldroup has also been important with respect to lowering dietary costs, a major expense in poultry production, and in reducing phosphorus excretion.

Waldroup’s research helps poultry companies formulate feeds to create environmentally friendly solutions for effective nutrient management of land, Bottje said.

Novus International's gift counts toward the "challenge" to raise $300 million for academic purposes to match the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation's $300 million gift. The total Campaign for the Twenty-First Century goal is $900 million by June 2005, of which some $720 million has already been raised. The challenge total stood at $104.8 million as of May 31. Bumpers College and the Division of Agriculture have raised $54.9 million toward a $69.3 million Campaign goal as of May 31.

Novus International, Inc., is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., and serves customers in more than 80 countries around the world. An industry leader and one of the foremost suppliers of amino acids for animal agriculture, Novus products include Alimet^® Feed Supplement, Oasis^® Hatchling Supplement, feed grade antioxidants and many other specialty ingredients. Novus possesses a core expertise in the study of gut health and its impact on performance, which has led to the development of ADVENTT Coccidiosis Control, a breakthrough coccidiosis vaccine for broiler chickens.

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® ALIMET is a trademark of Novus International, Inc., and is registered in the United States and other countries.

® OASIS is a trademark of Novus International, Inc., and is registered in the United States and other countries.

T ADVENT is a trademark of VIRIDUS Animal Health LLC