A $100,000 donation was made by the Iowa Pork Producers Association to Iowa State.

The donation was to fund a new faculty position in the animal science department, said Jason Menke, assistant director of communications at the ISU Foundation.

He said the money was used to help start a position for Kenneth Stalder, who teaches environmental education and refining management of Iowa pork at Iowa State.

“Our big role is to deliver educational material to pork producers,” said Stalder, assistant professor of animal science.

There has been cooperation between the Iowa Pork Producers and Iowa State for a number of years, Stalder said. Iowa State delivers quality education programs to producers around the state, he said.

Sherry Hoyer, communication specialist for the Iowa Pork Industry Center, said the gift from the Iowa Pork Producers Association will provide for startup expenses.

“[The expenses are] to establish [the] position and get it on the books so everything is ready to go,” Hoyer said.

With the financial state of the university, the Iowa Pork Producers Association felt they needed to step up and help the university, said Rich Degner, executive director of the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

The Iowa Pork Producers Association wanted to make sure the good programs and research for pork issues at Iowa State continued, he said.

“[We] felt we needed to help ISU with the pork outreach program of Iowa,” Degner said. “We wanted to make sure the university had resources for the professor to cover research and start up funds for the position.”

With budget cuts, the Iowa Pork Producers Association wants to make sure research continues and new opportunities are available, Hoyer said.

This is a positive step in that direction, she said.

“[The Iowa Pork Producers Association] has funded research in the past and appreciates Iowa State University’s work,” Degner said.

The university will teach more traditional production issues to make pork producers more efficient, Stalder said.

“The private support is important to public universities because it allows them to continue research and teaching of the information that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do,” Menke said. “The agricultural industry in Iowa came to recognize the importance of the research conducted at ISU and its importance to Iowa and the world.”

The private support shows the continued cooperation and respect for faculty and staff at Iowa State and ensures cooperation will still be available, Hoyer said.

“We just have confidence in the university to have Stalder do what will be good for the pork producers,” Degner said.