Dr. Thomas M. Sutherland earned his bachelor's degree in agriculture from Glasgow University in Scotland in 1953 and a post-graduate diploma in animal husbandry from Reading University in England in 1954. From there, it was on to masters and Ph.D. degrees in animal breeding from Iowa State University in 1956 and 1958, respectively. Sutherland accepted a position in CSU's Department of Animal Science in 1958, and soon became one of CSU's favorite professors. In 1964, the CSU student body voted him "top professor." With a fervent belief in the power of education to improve people's lives, Tom accepted the position of Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at the American University of Beirut in 1983. On June 9, 1985, Tom was returning from a trip to the United States when he was captured by Islamic militants. Throughout six-and-a-half years of captivity, he shared his views on agriculture's role in bringing peace to troubled regions of the world, and taught his fellow captives about animal science. Since his release in 1991, Tom has addressed thousands of groups ranging from elementary school children to business executives.