Doug Ware has spent his life in agriculture, and he understands the importance of having deep roots.

Through his own travels across the country, and a worldwide reach from the products and methods he has created, Ware credits the strength of his hometown Huntington roots for the successes in his life. With that strong connection, he and his family are making sure future generations will have their own opportunities to follow their dreams.

Doug Ware was born in 1947 to Dale and Mary Ware, the third generation of the family born in the county. Doug’s father graduated from Huntington Township High School and Huntington College, when he was influenced by the agricultural innovator Fred Loew. He then taught at Huntington High School for 41 years, and provided for his son the best example of work ethic and character strength.

Doug Ware entered Huntington High School, where he excelled athletically and academically.

In the classroom, Ware credits teachers Richard Goshorn, Glen Hummer, Robert Diffenbaugh and Max Fordyce for instilling in him a love of science. An honor student, Ware earned a National Science Foundation summer scholarship to Michigan State, where his interest in the biological sciences took root.

Outside the classroom, Ware was a three-sport standout, lettering in football, basketball and track, helping the Vikings to conference titles in all three sports. He earned all-conference honors in football and basketball as a senior.

His love of football came from coaches Marland Sell and Jerry Young. In basketball, Ware came under the tutelage of another legendary Huntington figure in Bob Straight, playing on Huntington’s historic 1964 state runner-up basketball team. Like so many others from that squad, Ware credits Straight not only for his coaching, but for the life lessons that have stayed with him in the years since.

Ware graduated from Huntington in 1966, entering Purdue University on a football scholarship. As a Boilermaker, he was a varsity letterman, and was a member of the 1967 Big Ten champions that went on to win the Rose Bowl.

After graduation from Purdue in 1970, Ware joined Dow Chemical, working with some of the top veterinarians and animal nutritionists in the country. Their mentoring spurred Ware to return to school at Iowa State, where he earned a master’s degree in 1974 and his Ph.D. in animal nutrition in 1976. Rejoining Dow Chemical, Ware began to innovate in the area of animal nutrition and production, particularly with microbiological products that were safe for humans and animals.

He continued his research and development with BioZyme Enterprise and Biotechniques Laboratories before starting his own company, Nutrition Physiology Corporation, in 1993 in Amarillo, Texas. The new company was committed to innovation in the discovery and use of microbiological products. Through the years, he has received 33 patents for his natural products and methods that have enhanced efficiency in animal production, food safety and animal health. In 2016, Ware sold his company to CHR Hansen, a Danish microbiological company.

Dr. Ware and his wife, Virginia, currently live in North Carolina, and have two daughters, Anna and Kristin. Committed to giving back to the hometown he credits for providing the foundation for his life, Ware has been generous with the wealth and wisdom from a lifetime of success. Ware and his wife have donated nearly a million dollars to provide educational opportunities and assist in developing new generations of leaders.

They gave $500,000 to Huntington University for the construction of a plant science greenhouse dedicated to Ware’s father, a 1936 graduate of the school. They have committed $265,000 to fully endow the Robert Straight Scholarship that goes annually to a Huntington North graduate. Recently, they provided more than $100,000 to the Platt-Ware Scholarship honoring the life of Huntington legend and longtime friend Steve Platt.

He is also a member of scholarship foundations at Texas Tech and Iowa State.

Ware takes a personal approach with the students to whom he provides assistance, often returning to Huntington to meet one-on-one with scholarship recipients and their families. That level of mentorship allows him to nourish those deep personal roots.

“My life’s journey has taken me to many wonderful places,” says Ware. “but my dreams, hopes and aspirations started in Huntington, Indiana. It will always be home.”