On September 8, 2017, U of M donors, students, staff, faculty, alumni, and other supporters gathered to celebrate the official launch of the public phase of a 10-year fundraising campaign called Driven: The University of Minnesota Campaign.

The goal is to raise $4 billion for students, faculty, and the U’s three-part mission of education, research, and outreach for the benefit... Read more

The Minnesota Youth Institute World Food Prize competition drew 150 Minnesota high school students to the U’s St. Paul campus on May 15. Land O’Lakes helps to sponsor the competition. Five times as many students as in the past were able to attend this year’s event, according to Mohamed Yakub, Minnesota Youth Institute coordinator.

The competition

Competing... Read more

The Global Food Challenge Emerging Leaders travel to Africa June 17–29 to exchange ideas and learn more about hunger, agriculture, and sustainability. Joining the four student interns from the U of M—Rachel Anderson, Katie Atkins, Audrey Sebastian, and Peri Warren—are Dean Brian Buhr, Professor Paul Porter, and Mohammed Yakub, all from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource... Read more

Johanna Knorr, ’17 B.S., took the lead on a number of ventures while earning her degree in animal science/agricultural and food business management at the U of M. She was active in her college’s student board and mentor program, president of Beta of Clovia sorority, and manager of the Gopher Dairy Bar, which she says proudly served Land O’Lakes ice cream mix at the Minnesota State Fair.

By speaking or volunteering on campus, Land O’Lakes leaders help to grow the company’s relationship with the U of M. Their activities tie into an overall strategy to raise the company’s profile, help students see Land O’Lakes as a prospective employer, and support the U of M mission.

Building a talent pipeline is an especially high priority for Land O’Lakes, which is working toward... Read more

Kenta Nakatsuka, a Land O’Lakes Scholarship recipient, grew up helping his parents cultivate vegetables and rice. But his interest in food really developed in the kitchen. “I love eating,” he says. “I would sit beside my mother and cut vegetables and learn how to make things.”

At first, Nakatsuka, who grew up in in Okayama, Japan, wanted to become a chef, but instead turned to science... Read more

Land O’Lakes Scholar Anna Aukes has fond childhood memories of selling her family’s produce at the farmer’s market in Blue Earth, Minnesota. “It was me, my sister, and my two neighbors,” she recalls. “We had our own little business.” Although she enjoyed helping grow the food she sold, agriculture wasn’t initially her career plan. “I wanted to be an artist, then I wanted to work for NASA, and... Read more

“The LeaderShape program is contagious—once you participate, you will never be the same,” says Neil Mawah, a junior accounting major who attended the six-day leadership program during winter break 2017. “It challenges you to think deep and big, and to open your eyes to many possibilities as an aspiring leader.”

Neil was one of 60 U of M students participating in LeaderShape, a... Read more