Media Advisory: MU Chancellor Deaton to Join International Expert at Mizzou Advantage Drought Workshop

Story Contact(s):
Christian Basi, BasiC@missouri.edu, 573-882-4430

WHAT: Food security is an increasing concern as the global population is projected to reach 9 billion by 2050. As part of the Mizzou Advantage workshop, “Roots Under Drought – Model Systems to the Field,” MU Chancellor Brady Deaton and Bill Davies, director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture at Lancaster University, United Kingdom, will discuss food security and agricultural production in drought-prone regions of the world.

Deaton is the chairman of the Board of International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Deaton was appointed to the position last year by President Obama. Deaton has worked on international agriculture and food security in numerous capacities and received the Malone Award for International Leadership from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

Davies was the founding director of the Lancaster Environment Centre. Davies also is leading the formation of an International Food Security Alliance (ISFA), of which MU is a partner institution. In 2011, Davies was honored as a “Commander of the British Empire,” an honorary title bestowed by the Queen, for his studies of plant root physiology that have been exploited to develop water-saving techniques for agriculture in regions of the world that suffer from a lack of water. Davies’ presented is being supported through the Chancellor’s Distinguished Visitor program.

The Mizzou Advantage was identified to increase MU’s visibility, impact and stature in higher education, locally, statewide, nationally and around the world. Mizzou Advantage focuses on four areas of strength: food for the future, media of the future, one health/one medicine, and sustainable energy. The goals of Mizzou Advantage are to strengthen existing faculty networks, create new networks and propel Mizzou’s research, instruction and other activities to the next level.

WHO: Speakers include:

• Brady Deaton, MU chancellor and chair of BIFAD
• Bill Davies, Lancaster University, United Kingdom

WHERE: Monsanto Auditorium, Bond Life Sciences Center

WHEN: 9 a.m., Wednesday, April 4

Deaton will speak at 9 a.m., presenting “BIFAD’s Perspective on Global Food Security.”

Davies will speak at 9:30 a.m., presenting “Exploitation in agriculture of root biology underpinning crop yield and water saving under drought”

NOTE: This event is free and open to the public.