Des Moines Register
06-02-07
Monsanto has long been supportive of Iowa State
For many years, Monsanto has had a valued relationship with Iowa State
University. We have been especially supportive of the College of Agriculture
(COA) and have enjoyed productive relationships with many faculty for over 30
years.
That's why we were surprised to read in a May 23 Register article the implication
that Monsanto has not provided any financial support to ISU because ISU
Research Foundation Director Ken Kirkland says we have not contributed
directly to the research foundation ("Monsanto Violated Patents, ISU Says").
Just last year, the ISU Foundation honored Monsanto for "exceptional support of
Iowa State University."
In giving the award, ISU cited Monsanto, in part, for giving the university grants of
more than $2 million for agricultural and economic research and $2.4 million in
gifts and state-of-the art equipment.
We support fellowships for graduate students in plant sciences, including a
minority-student program, and over the years, Monsanto has hired a huge
number of ISU graduates. I am proud to be an ISU graduate, as well as to have
been a faculty member in the Department of Agronomy from 1979 to 1982 and to
now serve on Dean Wendy Wintersteen's COA Advisory Council.
Our company is an active partner in some of the university's most important
initiatives, including the Seed Science Center and the Plant Sciences Institute.
Despite the Register article, we believe all of these initiatives have strengthened
our relationship with ISU, and we will continue to believe they demonstrate
Monsanto's commitment to Iowa State University.
- Theodore M. Crosbie,
vice president, Global Plant Breeding,
Monsanto Company,
Ankeny.