68 donors raise $150,000 in honour of prof

68 donors stepped forward over the last year to rapidly raise $150,000 in honour of a colleague, mentor and friend.

The new Kees de Lange Scholarship in Swine Nutrition honours the beloved professor, Kees de Lange, who passed away on August 1, 2016. The graduate scholarship will be presented annually to a student focused on swine nutrition.

“It is a fitting tribute to Kees,” says Prof. Jim Squires, chair of the Department of Animal Biosciences. “Mentoring the next generation of swine researchers was an important focus for Kees.”

“The fact that this many people came together so quickly showcases how much he meant to his colleagues and more broadly the industry he served,” Squires adds.

One of the key industry groups that stepped forward support the scholarship was Ontario Pork.

“Kees was not only an exceptional researcher, he was a mentor to many because of his kind, open and most humble approach, as well as his passion for pigs,” says Eric Schwindt, Ontario Pork’s board chair. “By providing funding, we would like to honour Kees de Lange for his outstanding contribution to the pork industry both in research and teaching. We believe that Kees’ contribution will be felt for many years and this scholarship will continue to support his legacy.”

Kees was born in De Weere, the Netherlands, and grew up in this agricultural community where his family owned a feed company. He studied animal science at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, and moved to Canada in 1985 to conduct his Ph.D. studies at the University of Alberta.

In 1994, he joined the faculty of the University of Guelph in the area of swine nutrition where he had a productive and highly respected career. His peer-reviewed publications and presentations on swine nutrition exceed 150 and 130, respectively. He made outstanding and long-lasting contributions to the swine industry in Canada and internationally. In addition to teaching undergraduate students, he supervised over 50 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

“It was very inspiring to see how many members of the community quickly stepped forward to support this scholarship,” says Amy Atkinson, senior development manager for the Ontario Agricultural College. “The speed at which the scholarship goal was met demonstrates Kees’ impact on the people he worked with.”

The first Kees de Lange Scholarship in Swine Nutrition will be presented this fall at the Fall 2018 OAC Graduate Awards Celebration.