2025 Archie M. Griffin Professional Achievement Award

Dr. Charles Hofacre ’79, ’82 MS, ’84 DVM is known as one of the world’s top researchers in the field of poultry science, but his success in the field might never have happened but for a crushing disappointment.

At age 22, Hofacre learned he hadn’t been accepted into the veterinary science program at Ohio State. He had always dreamed of being a veterinarian and worked hard, earning his undergraduate degree with honors. How could this have happened?

Hofacre met with the dean of the veterinary school. “He told me that I’d been so quiet in my interviews with the faculty that I didn’t impress them,” says Hofacre, a self-described introvert. Standing out was important in a competitive program with room for only one in five candidates.

The dean’s words stung, but Hofacre was not about to give up. He decided to enroll in a master’s program in poultry science at Ohio State, thinking it would fill a gap while he waited to reapply to veterinary school.

Instead, birds became his passion, and Hofacre’s career took flight as a distinguished professor and leading researcher in poultry science. His work focuses on improving the health of poultry flocks and preventing diseases caused by salmonella and other pathogens. The goal, he says, is to ensure that poultry products are safe for consumers.

Hofacre gained his expertise working for private poultry producers and as a professor at the University of Georgia, where he generated $11.8 million in research funding and grants. He and his wife, Dr. Christa Shoup Hofacre ’81, now run the Southern Poultry Research Group near Athens, Georgia, and consult with clients around the world.

Hofacre, once labeled as too quiet, is now a polished speaker. “I’ve made thousands of presentations all over the world, and I’ve done many television and radio interviews. I’ve been president of the poultry veterinarian’s association and lectured as a professor. I still have a bashful part of me, but I learned to push myself out of the bubble.”

He has also earned four graduate degrees, including a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Ohio State. That’s right, Hofacre reapplied to veterinary school, determined to leave a mark the second time around. He even told one professor who interviewed him that he had heard the professor could be difficult to work with. Impressed with his boldness, the professor burst out laughing. “I don’t know if that’s what did it, but I got accepted,” he says.