David and Angelica Harcharik

The College of Natural Resources is honored to announce that David and Angelica Harcharik have named the NC State Natural Resources Foundation, Inc. in their estate plans.  When funded, the David and Angelica Harcharik Forestry International Studies Endowment in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources will encourage and entice students to go beyond their national borders in pursuit of scientific knowledge and the understanding of other cultures.

Dr. David Harcharik earned a Ph.D. in forest genetics from NC State in 1984 after earning his bachelor’s degree in forest management from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in forest ecology from Duke University.”  David Harcharik is a true role model for our students,” says Dr. Larry Nielsen. “His fundamental concern for narrowing the gap between rich and poor nations, and for achieving a sustainable world economy and environment, are the core values we work to instill in every student at NC State.” He was NC State’s College of Natural Resources 2002 Distinguished Alumnus.

Harcharik retired in 2007 as Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, a position he held for ten years.  In this capacity, he assisted the Director-General with the overall leadership and management of this international organization dedicated to world food security and the sustainable management of natural resources.  Previously he served as Assistant Director-General and Head of the FAO Forestry Department and as a Forestry Officer with FAO.

Harcharik also held a number of positions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, including Director of International Forestry and Associate Deputy Chief. Early in his career he was a Peace Corps Volunteer and Visiting Professor in the Department of Forest Sciences at Agrarian University in Lima, Peru. He also served our country in the US Army in Vietnam.

He and his wife, Angelica, met while studying Italian in Rome, where she was visiting from Argentina. They married in Rome and lived there for some 18 years. In Italy, Angelica developed a passion for cooking and went on to earn three degrees from professional chef schools in Rome and Paris. In addition to fine cooking with natural ingredients, especially based on Italian recipes, she enjoys travel and nature, and a keen love of animals.

This endowment will be used to support fellowships, research funding, study abroad, student recruiting and/or other related forestry international study purposes for graduate students enrolled in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in the College of Natural Resources at NC State University.