The Endowed Program in Cooperative Business Management was established on April 2, 1982, and became fully funded in 1987 at $250,000. The Endowment is funded through gifts from the Ohio Council of Farmer Cooperatives, its members and friends of cooperatives throughout Ohio and the U.S.
The income is to be used to provide program support for the work of a distinguished scholar in the field of cooperative education and business management. Selection of the recipient is to be made by the Chair of the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics based upon recommendations of those within the department, Ohio State University Extension personnel responsible for the program and an advisory committee comprised of the members on the Ohio Council of Cooperatives Executive Committee.
The fund generates between $20,000 and $30,000 per year. For the past several years, the proceeds have been used primarily to support graduate student research in the area of cooperatives. Our Master and Doctoral students have received national recognition for these projects and have been recognized five out of the past 10 years. The justification for allocating the funds to conduct research projects is that quality teaching and outreach programs are based on solid research.