Pennsylvania State University, College of Agricultural Sciences
Founded in 1855, Penn State began as an agricultural college and was designated as the Commonwealth’s sole land-grant institution, pledging to disseminate the benefits gained through research and instruction, which today takes the form of hundreds of outreach programs that touch the lives of millions of people each year.
The College of Agricultural Sciences was the first of the colleges established at Penn State and today is widely recognized as one of the nation's premier institutions for agricultural research and education programs. The Department of Entomology has long been a leading information source for honey bee research and is currently staffed by world renowned professors and researchers. Penn State is also a lead institution in the Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium (MAAREC), a regional task force with representation from Mid-Atlantic state governments, the beekeeping industries and various other Universities addressing the many issues facing the beekeeping industry in the Mid-Atlantic Region and has several collaborative projects with researchers at USDA-ARS. Penn State directly interacts with EPA and APHIS on bee-related issues and has testified before the United States Congress on Colony Collapse Disorder.
As a brand focused on using the finest, all natural ingredients in its ice cream, Häagen-Dazs® values the important role honey bees play in creating many of its most treasured flavors. Through its Häagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees™ campaign, Häagen-Dazs ice cream is committed to funding research to support sustainable pollination. In 2008, the Häagen-Dazs brand partnered with Penn State donating $125,000 to further the University’s outstanding research in this field.
In 2009, the $125,000 gift from the Häagen-Dazs brand will provide immediate funds for research, education and outreach, and student training, synergizing the collective activities in sustainable pollination at Penn State.
Research: Nearly half of the gift will be used to enhance research on pollinators and pollinator identification by purchasing equipment for the research laboratories to aid in the molecular and chemical analyses of bees and related samples. A portion of the gift will also go towards conducting a survey to determine native bee population health.
Outreach: Educating the public on the importance of bees, bee-health and pollination is essential and part of the Häagen-Dazs brand gift will be used to further expand the Master Gardener Program on pollinators to teach people how to plant and grow bee friendly flower gardens through the Master Gardeners program in Pennsylvania and then return to local communities to share their knowledge, allowing more of the public to become educated on the problem and solutions. In addition, the gift will be used to develop a pollinator garden certification program.
Student Training: The gift will also fund two Häagen-Dazs graduate fellowships to provide students greater hands-on experiences in pollinator health research and to ensure training in this area.
In order to maintain a strong understanding about the various advances and issues related to sustainable pollination, the Häagen-Dazs brand has created the Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Bee Board to provide insight and consultation on the continuing honey bee problem and new research findings. Bee Board members from Penn State will include: Diana Cox-Foster, professor and CCD expert, Robert Berghage, associate professor and Bee Garden expert, Marryann Frazier, senior extension associate at Penn State, with a focus on integrated pest management, and Dennis vanEngelsdorp, senior extension associate and acting state apiarist with Philadelphia Department of Agriculture.