The NC State Philanthropy Podcast · NC State University

Episode 26: Supporting Slocum Camp, With Sam Cook

·17 min·1 clip

Sam Cook reveals how he monetizes 11 forest properties across 12 counties to fund scholarships and support the College of Natural Resources.

This episode features Sam Cook, Executive Director of Forest Assets for NC State's College of Natural Resources, discussing philanthropic support for the college's forest properties. Host Taylor Pardue interviews Cook about his professional journey and the management of these educational lands. Cook explains his dual role involves managing properties and fundraising to support the college's mission. The conversation centers on Slocum Camp, a 2,600-acre forest with 37 facilities used as a summer learning lab for forestry and wildlife students. Cook details the camp's hands-on curriculum, which includes silviculture, fire management, and timber measurement. He recounts how in 2016, facing potential closure, he developed a business plan and a prioritized repair list for the aging camp infrastructure. Several buildings, like the Lodge built in the early 1930s from on-site timber, originally served as WWII barracks and CCC projects. Cook describes the Lodge as a historic, two-story log structure central to student camaraderie and now being renovated into a retreat center. Philanthropy enables these upgrades and supports student scholarships and work-study programs funded by the managed forests. A notable naming opportunity resulted in "Cook Cabin," a facility named in Sam Cook's honor through a colleague-led fundraising effort. Cook advocates that every college employee should consider themselves a fundraiser to ensure operational resources. A surprising insight is that Cook's first visit to NC State as a student was directly to Slocum Camp, never to main campus. The camp serves as a "mini-interview" space where senior alumni recruit and assess current students. Cook's long-term vision is to transform Slocum into a year-round destination with an education center, expanding its use for conservation education and events. He emphasizes the camp's critical role in team-building and creating lifelong professional networks among students. The episode has a conversational and informative tone, blending personal anecdote with institutional detail. It is styled as a professional development and philanthropy showcase, highlighting specific assets and funding needs. Alumni of the College of Natural Resources, especially those with memories of Slocum Camp, would deeply appreciate this episode. Listeners interested in land management, forestry education, or university philanthropy will find it engaging. Those seeking a highly narrative story or topics unrelated to academia or resource management might choose to skip it.

As heard by us

Slocum Camp's story unfolds through repairs, budgets, and a Lodge headed for a new life.

Sam Cook's conversation with Taylor Pardue frames Slocum Camp around care, memory, and the money needed to keep it running. It follows Cook from Tuskegee University's forestry school to NC State, then ties that background to 11 properties across 12 counties, a lodge that once…

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Why you'd press play

You want a Slocum Camp story where old logs, budgets, and student support all matter.

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