On January 1, 2021, Dr. Keri Jacobs officially joined the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) as the newly established MFA Chair and a distinguished fellow of the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership (GICL).
As the MFA Chair and GICL Distinguished Fellow, Jacobs’ work will include engagement and support of the U.S. agricultural cooperative industry. Since 2012, Jacobs previously served as the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives Endowed Economics Professor at Iowa State University. She has experience as an undergraduate educator, researcher and extension specialist. With a focus on cooperatives, Jacobs has conducted training and analysis specific to the cooperative model, board governance and financial and equity management.
“The creation of the endowed MFA Chair is a further investment in the strong partnership we have with the University of Missouri,” says Jon Ihler, president and CEO of MFA Oil Company. “We are excited for the opportunity to work with Dr. Jacobs and we look forward to her contributions in support of American farmer-owned cooperatives.”
The MFA Chair position within CAFNR is an upgrade over the MFA Professorship in Agribusiness that was created in March 2015 when the MFA Foundation committed to a $750,000 endowment. In 2020, MFA Oil Company, MFA Incorporated and the MFA Oil Foundation committed to raising the funding to a total of $1.1 million to convert the professorship into an endowed chair position. The chair has access to the endowment’s resources for research and educational activities.