MEDIA ADVISORY: MU Chancellor, Regional Experts to Discuss Midwest’s Potential Impact on Solving Global Hunger

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

WHAT:          
Global hunger is a complex issue affecting people in countries around the world. Now, MU Chancellor Deaton and regional experts will discuss how the Midwest can be part of the solution to global hunger.

MU Chancellor Brady 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.

Deaton will be joined by Michael Helmstetter, president and CEO of MRIGlobal. MRIGlobal is an independent, non-profit organization that performs contract research for government and industry. As one of the leading research institutes, the organization conducts programs in a number of areas including the life sciences, energy and the environment, agriculture, and food safety.

Dan Getman, president of Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute will make opening remarks. The institute promotes life sciences in the Kansas City region through research, commercialization and workforce development.

WHO:            
Speakers include:

• Dan Getman, president of Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute
• Michael Helmstetter, president and CEO of MRIGlobal
• Brady Deaton, MU chancellor and chair of BIFAD

WHERE:       
Kauffman Conference Center, 4801 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, Mo.

WHEN:          
7:15 to 8:45 a.m., Wednesday, March 7