A passion for animals becomes a gift to the Libraries

Asked about the Libraries fellowship that he and his wife have endowed on the 2024 Day of Giving, Lawrence Bivins quotes a Bhakti yoga mantra: "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu." It translates to: “May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.”

The couple saw the mantra’s benevolence expressed through the Libraries’ collections in Animal Rights and Animal Welfare, which is why they have created the Lawrence Bivins and Lori Tussey Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Animal Welfare and Environmental Stewardship—the Libraries’ first full graduate fellowship.

Neither of them has a background in animals. A vegetarian on largely ethical grounds, Tussey has degrees from NC State in both chemical engineering and design. Bivins has had a career in economic development and currently teaches yoga. But it all came together when Jeremy Allen, the Libraries’ Executive Director of Philanthropy, Libraries and Parent Giving, took the couple to the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) to browse the collections in person.

“Among the things that the two of us agree on is that we need to take care of the planet,” Bivins says. “It's the only one we've got that we know of that can support human life. So we had best take care of it. Jeremy put together a very compelling proposal and brought us in and laid out documents and artifacts in the collections. And it was completely fascinating.”

"When Lori shared with me her passion for animal welfare, I mentioned to her and Lawrence that we are lucky enough to hold the preeminent North American Animal Rights and Animal Welfare archive right here at NC State,” Allen says. “Soon after this conversation, I worked with Sandra Varry and Gwynn Thayer from our Special Collections team to show Lori and Lawrence a sampling of this remarkable archive. We started talking about the need for graduate student support in this space, and it was fun to see the pieces fall into place for such a meaningful and personal gift from two very special people."

The endowment will offer partial support for graduate fellowships for students pursuing any graduate degree and working for the SCRC in support of the Animal Rights and Welfare Archive and the Environmental Justice Archive. The support may include tuition and health insurance, student fees, stipends, research funding, conference fees, research and conference travel and other enhancements to the graduate experience.

This holistic support is important to Bivins and Tussey. Through their membership in the Friends of the Libraries, they have come to see the Libraries’ central role on campus and to understand the comprehensive needs that the organization and its resources fulfill.

“The Libraries provides cohesion among the various colleges and disciplines. It provides cohesion among students, faculty and staff,” Bivins says. “And it's amazing to me, now that I'm about 40 years removed from my college years, how it's all about a lot more than just books and periodicals. The Libraries is basically a comprehensive student learning resource. It's far different than I remember libraries back in my day, which were about hard copy resources, maybe microfiche and microfilm. Every time I visit the Libraries, students are there working very hard. It's a very active place, a very energetic place.”

That energy connects Bivins’ yogic practice and Tussey’s vegetarianism to the daily work of graduate researchers in topics like Animal Welfare and Environmental Stewardship. And it animates the collections in the SCRC into a living resource.

“These are fascinating collections that I hadn’t known were there—and I don't think most people know they’re there,” Bivins says. “I believe it's one of the great untold stories on the campus of NC State University.”