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OK Farm Credit Associations unite to fund OSU ag finance professorshipOklahoma Oklahoma State University received a $250,000 gift from the Farm Credit Associations of Oklahoma to establish a professorship focused on agricultural finance. Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by T. Boone Pickens' $100 million chair match commitment, as well as the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the gift will provide $1 million in endowed funds. Organization officials noted that proper financial management of Oklahoma's farms, ranches and agribusinesses is critical in an ever-changing global agricultural economy. The professorship will help fulfill critical educational needs to preserve the viability of Oklahoma's agricultural industry. "This gift is a wonderful testimony of the special relationship between the Oklahoma agricultural industry and OSU. The two have worked together since before statehood to make Oklahoma farmers, ranchers and agribusiness operators successful," said OSU President Burns Hargis. "We applaud the Farm Credit Associations for its role in that success and for making this important gift to academics at OSU." Farm Credit chose to take full advantage of the dollar-for-dollar state match to add significant faculty support to OSU through the donation prior to the moratorium in Oklahoma's endowed faculty chair matching program that went into effect on July 1. The Oklahoma Farm Credit Professorship of Agricultural Finance will be housed in the OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The Farm Credit gift was made through all seven of the organization's associations: Farm Credit Services of East Central Oklahoma, Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma, Chisholm Trail Farm Credit, AgPreference, Farm Credit of Central Oklahoma, FLBA of Ponca City and Farm Credit of Enid. "As a customer-owned cooperative focused on agriculture, this is an indirect gift from our customers to OSU. Farm Credit customers both present and future will ultimately benefit from the gift," said John Poindexter, president and CEO of Farm Credit of East Central Oklahoma. "Farm Credit also has a strong hiring history with OSU grads, and it is befitting to give back to a university who will also help attract future employees for our organization." The gift was also prompted by Pickens' historic $100 million academic donation on May 21. Pickens' gift more than doubles the number of faculty chair and professorship positions at the university. He generously agreed that his donation could be used to match other donor gifts to faculty chairs and professorships in the area of the donor's choice, and in the name of their choice. With the state match on both gifts, OSU donors are able to effectively quadruple their gift to fund a faculty chair. Jean Van Delinder, chair of the OSU Faculty Council, said the university is poised for growth and further prominence, but to realize its full potential, OSU must continue to attract and retain top scholars and researchers. "These chairs highlight the important role that scholarship and teaching play at OSU, and they are made possible through the generous support of donors who value excellence in scholarship and want to help OSU continue to nurture a strong faculty," she said. Endowed professorship and chairs are academic designations which provide support for faculty salary, graduate assistantships, equipment and research needs, as well as other support. Endowed faculty positions allow a university to attract and retain the best and the brightest academic minds in the world. Oklahoma's only university with a statewide presence, OSU is a five-campus, public land-grant educational system that improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 32,000 students across its system and nearly 21,000 on its Stillwater campus, with students from all 50 states and around 110 nations. The Oklahoma State University Foundation serves as the private fundraising organization for the university, as designated by the OSU Regents. Its mission is to unite donor and university passions and priorities to achieve excellence. Additional information about the foundation is available at http://OSUgiving.com on the Internet. 8/25/08 Date: 8/15/08 Advertisement
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