Kentucky alumnus to chair key federal administration board
COLUMBIA, Mo. – May 18, 2011 – President Barack Obama has
designated University of Missouri chancellor Brady J. Deaton, Kentucky alumnus, as chairman of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, a key federal administrative post. Deaton will continue in his leadership role as chancellor at MU while serving the nation as chair of BIFAD. His term in this position will begin immediately.The Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) was created in 1975 under Title XII (Famine Prevention and Freedom from Hunger) of the Foreign Assistance Act. The primary role of BIFAD is to draw on scientific knowledge and capacity of U.S. higher education institutions, especially those with land-grant missions, to advise and serve the country’s international assistance efforts via the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator. The seven members of the board are appointed by the president; at least four of them must be from the U.S. university community.
“This is an excellent opportunity to draw on my academic and administrative background to make a difference in the well-being of the neediest people of the world,” Deaton said. “The benefit to the university and state of Missouri, via my work with BIFAD and USAID, is significant and I embrace the opportunity to engage in this opportunity. Our world is ever connected and the university values itself as a contributor academically, scientifically and economically to the global economy. The members of the board and I will address the scientific and educational foundations of agricultural, food and resource problems that continue to plague many parts of the world. I am very enthusiastic to serve in this capacity.”
Deaton was brought to the attention of President Obama for this position by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill based on his service as chancellor of MU, a major public, AAU-member research, land-grant university. In addition to an extensive administrative background at MU (provost, 1998-2004); deputy chancellor and chief of staff to chancellor (1994-98); Social Science Unit leader and chair of Agricultural Economics (1989-2003), Deaton has conducted extensive research and program development work encompassing economic development at home and abroad.
Deaton has been nationally recognized for his efforts to promote global education and international understanding beginning with his service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Recent initiatives include establishment of the European Union Center (currently known as the Transatlantic Center at MU (1998), which addresses critical public policy issues between the U.S. and the European Union, and MU’s Confucius Center (2011) to promote education, trade and cultural exchange between China and Missouri.
Deaton was initiated by Omicron in 1961.
Information courtesy of MU News Bureau