A Brief History of the ISU Agricultural Endowment, 1937-2023
Carmen Bain, Associate Dean
Mark Honeyman, Associate Dean
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Beginnings: The ISU Agricultural Endowment was established in 1937 during the heart of the depression. The non-profit corporation was begun with gifts of farmland and contributions from Clifton Robert (C.R.) Musser, a man who saw first-hand the problems facing agriculture at the time and who had a vision to help farm families in solving some of those problems. The formation pre-dated the beginning of the ISU Foundation.
Musser was chairman of the board of the Muscatine Bank and Trust Company. The Musser family had long-time lumber interests in Muscatine. Working with Iowa State President Charles Friley and Dean of Agriculture H.H. Kildee, Musser laid the groundwork for what was originally called the Iowa State College Agricultural Foundation. Musser also owned a highly-respected purebred Hereford beef cattle farm and it is believed that he and Kildee became acquainted at prominent livestock shows.
In 1938, Musser donated nine Iowa farms to Iowa State and $100,000. In 1942, he donated another three farms. The Agricultural Foundation was organized as a non-profit 501.c3 corporation affiliated with ISU’s College of Agriculture. The Foundation leased the farms to families. Musser was alarmed by the depletion of soil and the lack of skills and resourcefulness on the part of farmers that were needed to ensure sound farm operations. With the Foundation’s leadership, its farms were used to demonstrate better ways to manage and operate the land. Mr. Musser’s vision was to carry out educational programs to improve agriculture for the benefit of the State of Iowa. He wanted a way to help farmers and their families at a time when they faced many obstacles.
Operations: Over time, the Foundation’s set of farms changed. Some were sold when it was determined they no longer met the purpose at the time. Others were bought to fill a need at the time. Many of the farms had extensive demonstration/research projects, some done in cooperation with Iowa State faculty and others developed by the Foundation’s staff and trustees.
The Foundation’s trustee list reads like a who’s who of the history of Iowa agriculture and Iowa State University. The first trustees included Friley and Kildee, Iowa State Extension Director R.K. Bliss, Director of Agricultural Relations George W. Godfrey, farmer J.H. Anderson, businessman Deane W. Trick and Musser himself. Other familiar trustee names through the years included: William Murray, Floyd Andre, Carl Hamilton, Marvin Anderson, Carl Hertz, James Hilton, John Pesek, W. Robert Parks, Lanoy Hazel, Neil Harl, Lee Kolmer, David Topel, Kelly Tobin, Alan Tubbs, Jim Christensen, Jeff Plagge, Steve Berger, Steve Tubbs, Catherine Woteki, Joe Horan, Madeline Meyer, Joyce Neill, Marylou Ahrens, Jim Hultgren, Robert Butcher, Kevin Drury, Wendy Wintersteen, Kate Frieberg and many others.
At one point, 18 farms totaling nearly 5,500 acres were owned and managed by the Agricultural Foundation. At other times, the Foundation assisted Iowa State in purchasing land for research and education. In the early years, the methods of farm management, including crop and livestock share leasing arrangements, that were practiced by the Agricultural Foundation became widely known. James Wallace, who managed the farms for more than a quarter of a century, was well-known as a pioneer in absentee farm management. Wallace gave presentations around the country on the land management ideas of the Foundation. Wallace was one of the founders of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. (By the way, Wallace was not related to the famous Iowa family of Wallace’s, which included Henry A Wallace; he was originally from Pennsylvania.)
The ISU Ag Foundation/Endowment has had several strong leaders or executive directors through the years including James Wallace, George Ayers, Larry Trede, Cathy Good, and Mark Honeyman. The current executive director is CALS Associate Dean for Academic Innovation, Carmen Bain.
And the tenants working on the farms felt they had a valuable partnership with ISU and the Foundation. One tenant, who rented a Foundation farm for several years before buying his own in 1946, had glowing comments on his relationship with the Foundation: “I am glad I own my own farm. But I’d rather rent from the Foundation than from anybody else I know. They are absolutely fair. A person who meets them half-way will have every opportunity to make good. The manager treated me like a business partner: we pooled our ideas and worked out our plans together…. The manager pushes you a little with new ideas. He sold me on soil conservation and on raising hogs on clean ground.”
Another tenant in the 1940s said: “The Foundation wants to build up the farm. They are willing to spend money on the soil and to make the farm a better place on which to live and work.”
In 1956, Clifton Musser died at his home in Muscatine. At that time nearly 20 years old, the Agricultural Foundation continued to move forward assisting Iowa families active in agriculture.
New directions: The Iowa State University Agricultural Foundation (a name change that was approved in 1961) and its management systems worked well into the early 1960s. Agriculture had entered a period of rapid change, as farms began growing larger and more mechanized and rural populations began to shrink. The farms began to take on a stronger research role and less of a tenant emphasis. During this time, the Foundation continued to support agriculture at Iowa State and around Iowa. In 1967, the organization donated $7,000 to help found Living History Farms. In 1977, the Foundation purchased a Rhodes, Iowa farm from Pioneer Hi-Bred that became the center for Iowa State’s beef breeding research for more than 25 years. The Uthe farm in Boone County was purchased and is now owned by the Committee for Agricultural Development. In 1983, the organization helped purchase a farm near Crawfordsville that became Iowa State University’s Southeast Iowa Research and Demonstration Farm. Support was also provided to establish research farms in southwest and northwest Iowa.
It became evident, as the 1980s wore on, that the mission of the Agricultural Foundation was out-of-date and in need of new direction. The Board of Trustees determined a broader approach was required to support Iowa agriculture. The Agricultural Foundation began to sell its land holdings and endow the assets to create a rich resource for scholarships, grants and other support for programs in agricultural education, research and outreach.
The board retained the vision of C.R. Musser of devoting its resources to helping families make a successful entry into agriculture and provide tools to ensure their long-term stability. The board established scholarships for agriculture students at Iowa State. (This was not altogether a new idea. As far back as 1946, the Foundation board had approved scholarships for Iowa State freshmen majoring in agriculture.) The board began to provide opportunities for ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to support the infrastructure vital to the future of Iowa agriculture.
In the late 1990s, the settlement of the estate of Marie Powers of Hamilton County resulted in $1.26 million provided to the ISU Agricultural Foundation. This generous legacy — made possible by Marie Powers, a school teacher, and her husband, W. Kiley Powers, a well-known farmer, plant breeder and seed producer — continues to benefit ISU students every year. The legacy includes two endowed scholarship programs — the Kiley Powers Farm Scholarships, awarded annually by the Department of Agronomy, and the Kiley and Marie Powers Scholarships in the Plant Sciences, awarded annually by the ISU Agricultural Endowment. Both scholarships have supported hundreds of students since their establishment. Funds from the estate also helped to build an addition to Kildee Hall, one of the most well-used student buildings on campus. In 2018, the Agronomy Hall auditorium was named the W. Kiley and Marie Powers auditorium. The auditorium accommodates students in courses across the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the university.
In 2003, the Board of Trustees approved a name change to the ISU Agricultural Endowment. The change was made to ensure the distinction between its mission and that of the Iowa State University Foundation, which is the private, nonprofit corporation that secures and manages private gifts to benefit the entire university.
The Endowment no longer owns land, although it has supported local agricultural associations around the state in efforts to purchase land for research and demonstration of importance to their local needs.
Throughout the Endowment’s history, it has worked to keep families on the farm and to ensure the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences plays an important role in supporting the agriculture industry in Iowa.
Innovating Student Programs
Science with Practice: In 2005, a new program was initiated by the Ag Endowment—Science with Practice. Science with Practice is a hands-on learning and work program that provides highly meaningful experiences for many students. The purpose of SWP is to provide opportunities for students in CALS to learn and work experientially with faculty and staff in university research laboratories, farms, greenhouses, and other units through a planned education and work experience program. Students are able to learn about research and related professional practices while earning money and academic credit. The program was the idea of Tom Polito, Greg Miller and Mark Honeyman. Mike Retallick became the first leader of the program. All were faculty in the Agricultural Education and Studies Department.
Pathways to Innovation and Leadership: In 2021, the board provided seed funding to help launch this new initiative in CALS. The Pathways program supports students engage in hands-on and experiential learning that maximizes their ability to develop career ready competencies. Students can earn digital micro-credentials in innovation, leadership, and other skills most in demand from employers.
Mission / Organization
Vision: To be a magnet for attracting resources and creating opportunities that assist the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences achieve its goals.
Mission: To help the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences enhance its capacity to meet the needs of students and selected programs to benefit Iowa, the nation and the world:
- Provide resources for selected scholarships
- Provide assistance to selected educational programs and initiatives
- Encourage and accept gifts that grow the endowment
Most resources provided by the ISU Agricultural Endowment target scholarships and educational programs. The Endowment’s resources benefit students, farmers, and others in agriculture through:
- Scholarships to Iowa State students
- Support for hands-on learning, student clubs, undergraduate research and internships
- Support for College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ programs that advance agriculture in Iowa.
The ISU Agricultural Endowment, a private, nonprofit corporation, is led by a Board of Trustees made up of eight persons involved in agricultural production and agribusiness and seven university faculty and administrators, including the University President and the Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences. As an affiliate organization of the university, the Endowment provides an annual financial statement that the university submits to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.
Expanding Its Impact into the Future
The Endowment accepts bequests, gifts or donations that advance its mission. In 2022, the Board received two significant new gifts: the James P. Hultgren Ag Endowment Scholarship and the Sue Richter Agricultural Completion Grant. In response, the Board invited Larissa Holtmyer-Jones, president and CEO of the Iowa State University Foundation, to discuss how the foundation can work more closely with the Agricultural Endowment board. The ISU Foundation, as a separate legal entity, is a professional service provider that serves as a conduit to match donors with what they care deeply about at ISU, and to generate the greatest possible impact from private support. The foundation has team members embedded in the colleges and other campus units; Sarah Roelfs leads the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences team of foundation fundraisers and serves on the Ag Endowment Board. A gift fee of 5% is a major component of the foundation’s budget, and is a common model at university foundations across the country.
The Board voted to endorse working more closely with the ISU Foundation to explore future fundraising opportunities and to create a designated account within the ISU Foundation that would receive gifts from those who wished to give to programs or scholarships supported by the ISU Agricultural Endowment. The Board now manages annual revenue generated from both this Foundation account and the main Agricultural Endowment assets held by the university.
The Iowa State University Agricultural Endowment is proud of its past and present role in assisting Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences advance student success and Iowa’s most important industry — agriculture.
ISU Agricultural Endowment Benefits Today
Today, 86 years since its establishment, the ISU Agricultural Endowment is a major contributor for student education and student success. Since 2000, the endowment has provided almost $2.9 million in student grants and scholarships. In 2023 alone, a total of $176,678 was funded to scholarships, completion and emergency grants, and student programs. The Board of Trustees established the emergency and completion grant program in 2019 to help students overcome major challenges in their lives and ensure they stayed on track to receiving their degree.
Total assets for the Ag Endowment on June 30, 2023, was $4,404,796.