Dr. Charles Magee, a 1970 alumnus of Alcorn State University, has been selected to receive the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Borealis Award from the University of Minnesota (UMN) College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS).
Magee, who retired from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (Florida A&M) after more than 40 years in academia, is among 18 individuals who will be honored at the 19th Annual Borealis Night of Excellence. The event is scheduled for Thursday, April 17, 2025, at the St. Paul Student Center on the UMN campus.
The annual event, organized by the CFANS Alumni Society Board, CFANS Undergraduate Student Board, CFANS Graduate Student Board, and the CFANS Postdoc Board, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the college and the broader community. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to those who have brought lasting honor to CFANS.
“I am especially proud to receive this award because I am the first African American and UMN alum with an agricultural engineering degree to receive the award,” Magee said in a statement. “Further, I am infinitely sure that the confluence of my innovations and contributions in the development of the national society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences were two of the salient factors that contributed to my selection for the award.”
Magee served as a professor of biological systems engineering at Florida A&M. He also held several administrative positions in agricultural and engineering sciences at two land-grant universities: Fort Valley State University and Florida A&M University.
His achievements include being the first African American to earn a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1973 and the first to earn a Ph.D. in agricultural and biological engineering from Cornell University in 1980. He holds 10 U.S. patents and was a founding member of the National Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS).
A native of Prentiss, Mississippi, Magee was raised on a small family farm in Jefferson Davis County. He earned a bachelor’s degree in general agriculture (animal science) from Alcorn State University in 1970, a master’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1973, and a Ph.D. in agricultural and biological engineering from Cornell University in 1980.
Magee’s early education began in 1954 in a three-room community school with three teachers. He walked four miles to school each day. “Even under these cruel and harsh conditions,” Magee “fell in love with school” and did not miss a day until the 9th grade.
Throughout his career, Magee prioritized teaching and mentoring students. He has helped 14 former students and advisees earn Ph.D. degrees, including eight African American females. He also serves as a national leader promoting advanced degrees in STEM fields for African Americans. During his 28-year tenure at Florida A&M, Magee secured more than $4 million in scholarship funds for the Biological Systems Engineering (BSE) program. More than 250 students received scholarships.
Magee employed various methods to recruit students into the BSE program, including mining ACT and SAT data, writing personal letters to students and parents, speaking at alumni meetings, visiting career fairs, and hosting luncheons for educators. He also created and directed a 30-minute university TV show called “Land Grant Today,” which ran for six years.
For more information about the Borealis Night of Excellence, visit the Borealis Night of Excellence Awards webpage.
