Dr. Hasan Jameel Distinguished Professorship

Hal Lawton, Class of 1996 and his wife, Jodie made a gift and commitment as part of our 2024 Day of Giving, to endow the Dr. Hasan Jameel Distinguished Professorship.  Hal has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Tractor Supply Company since 2020 and is currently serving on NC State’s Board of Visitors.  Hal received his MBA from the University of Virginia and has held executive positions at Macy’s, eBay and The Home Depot. 

The Lawton’s established the Dr. Hasan Jameel Distinguished Professorship in the College of Natural Resources to honor the professor who had an enormous impact on Hal’s college and professional career.

Dr. Jameel taught in NC State’s Paper Science and Engineering Program from 1987-2022.  He brought academic content AND industry perspective to the classroom.  Dr. J (as many of his former students call him) demonstrated a love of teaching and developing his students in and out of the classroom.  He poured into the lives of hundreds of students by mentoring, listening, encouraging, challenging and supporting them through their academic, professional and personal journeys.

This Distinguished professorship will be used to support the activities of a professor in the Paper Science and Engineering Program whose demonstrated interests include the personal professional and leadership development and growth of the undergraduate students.  Matching funds will be sought to increase the impact of this award from the UNC System’s Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.

Thank you to Hal and Jodie for recognizing the impact of Dr. Jameel and paving the way for future faculty to continue investing in the lives of our students.