From humble roots, Karen Morris-Fine moved on to a career at the heights of her field—with some help along the way from Colorado State University.

Raised on a farm in eastern Colorado, Karen was one student in a class of six at a rural school. She made the trek to Fort Collins while in 4-H and attended CSU's Junior Engineers and Scientists Summer Institute, which stoked her interest in chemistry—and her determination to attend CSU.

"Growing up, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to be admitted to CSU," Karen says.

After earning three degrees at CSU in food science and nutrition, including a Ph.D., Karen launched her career at Coca-Cola, working in toxicology studies. She later moved on to The Boeing Company, taking on a leadership role at the aerospace giant.

Following her retirement, Karen wanted to pass on some of the opportunities she reaped from her CSU education. As part of her estate planning, she established the Karen Morris-Fine Graduate Student and Early Career Faculty Success Fund for CSU's Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition.

"I was impressed and pleased that Karen was interested in helping the department, in particular, our early career faculty," says Mike Pagliassotti, head of the department. "Her thinking was directed at having an immediate and sustained impact in the area of nutrition science."

The fund will provide support for graduate students as well as to faculty in nutrition science research programs who are in the early stages of their careers.

Shape the Future at CSU With a Gift

To learn more about the different options available for making a future gift to CSU, contact the Office of Gift Planning at (970) 491-4254.