Leonard C. Cooper, Sr., a retired administrator from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, is the recipient of North Carolina A&T State University's Alumni Excellence Award. He will be recognized at the institution’s Annual Spring Commencement to be held May 9, at 8:30 a.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. Cooper has distinguished himself as a leader. His objective throughout his career has been to empower limited-resource individuals and socially-disadvantaged communities.

A native of Oxford, N.C., Cooper graduated from N.C. A&T in 1943 with a B.S. degree in horticulture. After graduation, he enlisted in the military and became a flight engineer assigned to B-24, B-25 and B-26 airplanes. His unit was the first bomber group using Black pilots and airmen. Cooper began his professional career in 1946 working with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, in the "Training to Farm Program," which was designed to assist veterans with their farm enterprises. In 1954, he started working with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service as one of few Negro assistant county agents. In 1978 and 1979, he was promoted to county agent and extension chairman, respectively, and is credited with ensuring the survival and profitability of many small farmers, especially those in Warren County. While serving as an extension agent, he encouraged many students to attend his alma mater, A&T.

Cooper is most noted for his role in the Timothy C. Pigford v. Dan Glickman, Secretary, United States Department of Agriculture discrimination lawsuit. This case received national attention and resulted in retribution for numerous minority farmers across the nation. He was also president of the North Carolina chapter of the Black Farmer and Agriculturalists Association during this period and was also a farmer, cultivating 800 acres of soybeans and peanuts.

Cooper is an avid supporter of A&T and the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (SAES). He actively supports the sponsored activities of the SAES and is a charter member of SAES Alumni Society, the first for an A&T School or College.

More recently,Cooper donated $100,000 to the University and SAES establishing an endowment fund for student scholarships. The endowment honors his son who was killed in an automobile accident in 1982.

Cooper, 88, still enjoys farming and is actively involved in church activities at Emanuel Episcopal Church and his fraternity meetings. He has been married to his wife, Margaret, for 61 years. They reside in Warrenton, N.C.