UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Department of Animal Science in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has named Scott Kephart, of Clearfield, to receive its 2025 Distinguished Poultry Science Alumnus Award.
Kephart, who since 2014 has been senior farm supervisor for Penn State’s Poultry Education and Research Center, has had a long and distinguished career in the poultry industry. This award recognizes Kephart’s accomplishments and dedication to the discipline of poultry science. He joins a select group of distinguished alumni who have contributed significantly to the field.
At the Poultry Education and Research Center, Kephart manages the day-to-day operations of the facility, monitors and directs researchers on institutional animal care and use committee guidelines, and maintains compliance with regulations. He developed, administered and maintains a safety program at the center.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by my peers and my alma mater for what I have accomplished,” Kephart said. “It’s a true high point in my life and career, and something I never thought I would receive.”
Lisa Holden, professor and interim head of the Department of Animal Science, pointed out that it is an uncommon pleasure to bestow a distinguished alumnus award on a Penn State colleague.
“Scott Kephart has had a notable career,” she said. “We are privileged to have him as our very dedicated manager at the Penn State Poultry Education and Research Center (PERC) and we are thrilled to present him with the department distinguished alumni award for poultry science this year.”
Kephart received his bachelor’s degree in poultry technology and management in 1990 from Penn State. During his time at the University Park campus, he lived and worked at the original Poultry Farm on Bigler Road by the outdoor swimming pool.
“Then I came back in 2014 as the manager of the current facility located on Tower Road, where I give students the same great opportunity I had in college,” Kephart said. “Returning to Penn State was a great move in my career, and one I wish would have happened sooner.”
Among faculty and staff in the College of Agricultural Sciences, Kephart is known as an extremely capable individual who is easy to work with and always ready to help with research or projects.
“We especially appreciate Scott because of his positive attitude,” said Paul Patterson, a professor emeritus of poultry science who worked with Kephart for many years. “Unique experimental designs, procedures or equipment did not faze him running the PERC because of his ‘can do’ approach. Scott has always been the same cordial, positive person with other staff, graduate students and undergrads. His leadership and great communication skills make for a great working environment.”
Before coming back to Penn State, Kephart had a very successful career in the poultry industry. From 1990 to 1996 he was broiler flock supervisor with Perdue Farms Inc. in Salisbury, Maryland. During his time there, he administered the original Cocci vaccine on farms with poor performance and resistant strains of the poultry disease coccidiosis to develop a “medication- friendly” strain that could be controlled with medicine. Under his guidance, the route went from one of Perdue Farms’ worst to being one of its top performers.
From 1996-98 Kephart was a grain elevator foreman for Perdue Agribusiness, a division of Perdue Farms, and then, from 1998 to 2014, he worked as a grain elevator manager. He managed three grain facilities with a total storage capacity of 3.9 million bushels, handling corn, wheat, soybeans and barley.
Kephart carried a federal grain inspection license from 1998 to 2014, Also, he was the liaison for all Perdue Farms’ 18 elevators on temperature-monitoring systems and repair. He was responsible for aeration system maintenance and upkeep and grain bin maintenance and upkeep, answering to the company’s director of grain and oilseed.
While with Perdue Farms, Kephart developed a grain-bin rescue training program in conjunction with the company’s safety manager that trained all Perdue associates and branched out to train local fire companies as well. In 2013 and 2014, he attended Maryland Fire and Rescue training to obtain Level 1, 2 and 3 Fire Service Instructor Certification.
Kephart served as the secretary, then vice-president then president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society from 2006 to 2012. He was recognized by inGrain magazine as Grain Elevator Manager of the Month in 2012, and he was the youngest certified poultry technician in Pennsylvania in 1983 when, at the age of 17 he was certified by Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture field veterinarian Mike Tully. Finally, Kephart is certified in FEMA emergency management and has a certified Pennsylvania egg grader’s license.
Kephart and his wife, Carla, are Diamond Life Members of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). He is past president of the organization’s Clearfield Chapter and a current board member of NWTF’s Pennsylvania State Association.
He is the adviser for the Spur Collectors Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation at Penn State, one of only four current collegiate chapters in the nation. Since Kephart has been adviser, the chapter has won four national awards from the NWTF — three for membership numbers and one for net-to-gross earnings at the annual NWTF Banquet.
Kephart and Carla have two sons: Scott, 32, and Hunter, 30. This year they celebrate being married 35 years. “My family has always been a driving force behind what I have done and tried to accomplish,” he said.