Lam Hood grew up on a sixty cow Holstein dairy farm at George School, Bucks county. He loved (and still does love) farming, dairy cows and agriculture. Since his family did not own the farm (not long after the depression), he selected Dairy Manufacturing as his major at Penn State. While at PSU in the late 50’s, he was also an Army ROTC cadet, member of Phi Delta Theta, Thespians and Parmi Nous, and a PSU baseball manager. After securing an MS from the University of Minnesota, he went on active duty in the US Army.
Returning to Penn State in 1965, he studied with Dr. Stuart Patton, the first Evan Pugh Professor of Agriculture. In 1968, he and his family moved to Ithaca, New York. Lam spent eighteen years on the Cornell faculty in the Department of Food Science, and finally as the Director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Cornell’s campus in Geneva, New York.
He returned to his alma mater in 1986 as Dean of the College of Agriculture (now Agricultural Sciences). After stepping out of the Dean’s role in 1996, he developed two collaborative college-wide courses: Food Product Development: A Problem-Based Capstone Learning Experience; and Decision-Making in Agriculture and Natural Resources. In addition, he coordinated the Environmental Resource Management (ERM) major and taught Introduction to Environmental Resource Management (ERM 100). He retired in 2002 as Professor and Dean of Agricultural Sciences.
Since then, he has been involved in a mix of community activities including Habitat for Humanity, Housing Transitions, Meals on Wheels and currently on the Board of the State College Friends School and the College Township Industrial Development Authority. He also does Medicare counseling and supports many PSU sports teams. He and his wife, Lina, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in 2020, and they are the parents of three children, ten grandchildren (three Penn Staters) and two great grandchildren. They live in a cottage at the Village at Penn State, overlooking (and ‘guarding’) the Student Farm. Lam is thrilled to be an AmeriCorp member and a part of the farm team.