CVM’s Johnston Wins NC State, Governor’s Awards for Excellence

The College of Veterinary Medicine’s Dane Johnston is one just three NC State employees this year to receive both the University Award for Excellence and the Governor’s Award for Excellence, the highest honor for a state employee.

Johnston, director of continuing education, outreach and alumni affairs, was one of 12 recipients honored June 11 with the university-wide award, which recognizes significant accomplishments made by non-faculty employees.

He is also among 46 from across North Carolina chosen for the Governor’s Awards for Excellence, which will be handed out in a fall ceremony.

Johnston, who was been with the CVM for nine years, was singled out for creating an innovative CVM fundraising campaign, taking original wooden desktops from two renovated student lecture halls and turning them into branded cutting boards for sale.

The boards, marketed to alumni as pieces of college history to keep in their own homes, have raised $25,000 so far for the CVM’s student enhancement fund, which provides financial resources to current students.

“Dane’s actions embody the university motto of ‘Think and Do,’ as this initiative raised substantial dollars that can impact student life at the CVM,” Johnston’s nomination stated.