HARRISONBURG BUSINESS LEADER GIVES $3 MILLION 
FOR U.VA. ORGAN TRANSPLANT RESEARCH AND PATIENT CARE

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 6 -- A $3-million gift to support
the University of VirginiaÕs Transplant Center has been received
today from Harrisonburg business leader Charles O. Strickler.
	Announced today at the Board of Visitors meeting, the gift
creates the Strickler Family Eminent Scholars Professorship in
Transplant Surgery to support a chair for a leading transplant
surgeon and the Charles O. Strickler Transplant Research Fund for
basic and clinical studies in transplant science.
	Nationally recognized for its studies in viral hepatitis,
the transplant center is being designated as the Charles O.
Strickler Transplant Center, according to Health Sciences Center
officials.  The gift is instrumental in the UniversityÕs goal of
being among the nationÕs top 20 programs devoted to organ
transplantation, officials said.
	Strickler is president of Rocco Inc., one of the largest
integrated poultry manufacturers in the United States, marketed
under the brands Shady Brook, Valley Chef and Marvel.  He was
honored as 1988 Business Person of the year by the
Harrisonburg/Rockingham County Chamber of Commerce and in 1995 he
received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Virginia Tech.  He is
past president of the Virginia Turkey Association and the National
Turkey Federation, and represented the Sixth District of Virginia on
the CommonwealthÕs Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services by
appointment of the Governor.  Long active in civic affairs, he and
his wife, Judy, founded and co-chair U.Va.Õs Transplant Advisory
Committee.  Mrs. Strickler also serves on the U.Va.Medical CenterÕs
Advisory Committee.
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October 6, 1995