NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Tennessee State University will welcome Donnie Smith, CEO of Tyson Foods Inc., to award scholarships on behalf of the Tom Joyner Foundation, and to take tours of the University campus, receive briefings from department deans from the Colleges of Business and Engineering, and hold informational sessions with business and agricultural students.
Following a brief greeting by University officials at 8:15 a.m., Smith will tour several facilities, including the new Agricultural Biotechnology Building. He will then meet with business students in Holland Hall, following which, he will present scholarships on behalf of the Tom Joyner Foundation during a luncheon in the Presidential Executive Dining Room beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Smith, appointed as president and CEO in 2009, guides Tyson Foods to be a company with a conscience, focused on feeding the world great, affordable food, while also making a positive difference in people’s lives.
Smith has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of Tyson Foods Inc. since November 2009. He served as Senior Group Vice President of Poultry & Prepared Foods at Tyson Foods Inc. from January 2009 to November 2009. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the food industry and has been part of the Tyson team since 1980 in a wide variety of key roles.
A native of Tennessee, Smith graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a bachelor’s degree in animal science.
WHAT: Donnie Smith, CEO of Tyson Foods, Inc. will be in Nashville to award three Tennessee State University Agricultural and Business students with the Tom Joyner Foundation—Tyson Foods Scholarship.
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 1
11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Tennessee State University
Presidential Executive Dining Room
Floyd Payne Campus Center Suite 341
Nashville, Tenn.
WHO: Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith, Tom Joyner Foundation Executive Director Barbara Dunn Harrington, Tennessee State University faculty and administrators, and scholarship recipients.
WHY: The event is significant because:
- Tyson Foods has partnered up with Tennessee State University and the Tom Joyner Foundation to award Agriculture and Business students with scholarships and internship opportunities.
- Tyson Foods employs over 4,300 in the state and has three plants–Goodlettsville, Shelbyville, and Union City. The company’s total statewide economic is more than $188 million.
- The Tom Joyner Foundation—Tyson Foods Scholarship will award 12 students at historically black colleges and universities with $2,500 and internship opportunities.
- The Tom Joyner Foundation, founded in 1998, supports historically black colleges and universities with scholarships, endowments, and capacity building enhancements.