Business Icon Wordsworth Supports NC State Veterinary Medicine

The North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) announced today that it has received a substantial unrestricted cash gift from influential businessman and alumnus Jerry Wordsworth.

Wordsworth graduated from NC State in 1966 with an associate’s degree in livestock management and technology. His Labrador retriever, Rover, received care at the NC State Veterinary Hospital in several of its renowned specialty services, including rehabilitation, neurology and orthopedics.

“When I was a child, I always wanted to be a veterinarian,” Wordsworth said. “It is now my privilege to help support the next generation of veterinarians being trained here in North Carolina.”

He said he considers the College of Veterinary Medicine an “underrecognized jewel” in the state and hopes his gift encourages others to support North Carolina’s exceptional educational institutions.

“We are very grateful for Mr. Wordsworth’s substantial gift which helps us provide compassionate care to animals in need and expands our students’ horizons,” said CVM Dean Paul Lunn.

A native of Rocky Mount, Wordsworth’s leadership helped grow his family’s food distribution business, Meadowbrook Meat Company, or MBM, into a multibillion-dollar corporation. MBM was later sold to McLane Company, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.

Along with his brother, Steve, Wordsworth was a prominent minority stake owner of the Carolina Panthers at the time of its 2018 sale. Wordsworth was recently singled out as a business “icon” as part of the Business North Carolina 2019 “Power 100” list.  

“Private support from our partners and friends like Jerry are the driving force in veterinary innovation and enables us to think and do the extraordinary every day,” said Dianne Dunning, CVM associate dean of advancement.

Ranked No. 4 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine is a driving force in animal and human health and a global center of medical excellence and research.

World-leading faculty and clinicians are at the forefront of interdisciplinary biomedical innovation, conducting solution-driven practical and innovative research with transformative impact on animal and human health.

As a national leader in experiential teaching and learning, the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine is training the next generation of skilled, compassionate veterinary health professionals equipped to serve the global community.

The gift is part of the Think and Do the Extraordinary Campaign – a $1.6 billion fundraising effort.

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