Private Giving
An alumnus who has built a career in the science of flavoring foods will help finance construction of a laboratory in the College of Agricultural Sciences' new Food Science Building. John C. Wilson, founder and president of Flavors & Ingredients, and his wife, Margaret, have given $50,000 for the project.
John Wilson earned his bachelor's degree in food science in 1948 and went on to hold a number of positions in that field. He still maintains a flavor laboratory in their home in Greenville, Pa.
The lab being funded by the couple will be part of the new Food Science Building, slated to be built at the University Park campus adjacent to the Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building. The current facilities, in Borland Laboratory since 1932, have limited physical capacities and have become outdated.
The $22 million project -- $4 million of which is sought in private support -- will house a broad range of programs including laboratories for teaching and student research projects, pilot-scale processing facilities, classrooms with modern communication technology and a new home for the University Creamery.
In the mid-1980s, after working for Star Kay White, a company that specializes in supplying ice cream flavoring to the food industry, John Wilson planned to retire, but instead started his own business. Since founding Flavors & Ingredients, he has traveled the country and the world, representing 14 companies in their searches for new and improved tastes, including cappuccino in a bottle and coffee ice cream. Margaret Wilson serves as administrative assistant of the corporation.
Wilson was awarded a Purple Heart for service in World War II in the "Battle of the Bulge." He studied at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, before transferring to Penn State in fall 1946.
Margaret Wilson graduated from Robert Morris College in 1944. At Penn State, she worked as an assistant to three professors in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology while her husband was earning his degree.