This scholarship will award $2,000 each to three recipients. Recipients must be full-time students, meet admission requirements, demonstrate Christian character in and out of the classroom, and participate in the HLGU Agribusiness Program.

The Beards operate Beard Implement Company and are dealers in Case IH, New Holland, Kubota, and other short lines for the agriculture industry.

Beard Implement Company was founded by the Beard family 85 years ago and now operates in several locations, including Arenzville IL, Ashland IL, Pittsfield IL, and Hannibal MO.

鈥淲e are so pleased that Gerry and Mary Ann are partnering with 番茄社区 to help provide opportunity for area students to gain strength and knowledge in the agribusiness field,鈥� said Dr. Ray Carty, vice president for institutional advancement at HLGU.

HLGU鈥檚 agribusiness program is for students who wish to become involved in agricultural allied industries or directly in production agriculture upon graduation. The HLGU Agribusiness program is embodied in conservative, Christian, freedom-loving values and is taught by faculty with in-depth, real-world agribusiness and business experience.

鈥淭hank you to the Beards for their commitment to our growing agribusiness program. We truly value their partnership,鈥� said Tim Finlay, instructor of business and agribusiness program leader. 鈥淭his gift will help additional area students participate in our agribusiness program that is being designed to build future ag business leaders.鈥�

Graduates from the agribusiness program will have a Bachelor of Science in Business with an 18-hour emphasis in agribusiness鈥攚hich provides them a solid base to launch into a career in agriculture. Some of the agribusiness courses include agricultural management, sales, marketing, economics, policy, and government policy. The program also features opportunities for internships, is transfer friendly, and provides students with hands-on learning experiences.

For more information about the scholarship, or HLGU鈥檚 agribusiness program, contact Tim Finlay at 573.629.3028, or tim.finlay@hlg.edu.

番茄社区 University is a four-year Christian university fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The University prides itself in the traditional and nontraditional educational experience it offers in a distinctively Christian environment.

The program has been designed for students wishing to return to a farming operation after graduation as well as students who wish to become involved in either agriculture sales or in an agriculture management position.

鈥淲e truly believe that our ag business program is uniquely positioned at the intersection of faith, food, and freedom,鈥� said Tim Finlay, instructor of business. 鈥淲e know that agriculture is embodied in faith and freedom as this industry provides food for a rapidly growing population.鈥�

This new program will allow students to gain hands-on experience in the world of agribusiness, learn from traditional courses such as marketing, accounting and finance, and sales, and participate in an agriculture internship.

鈥淭he agribusiness concentration is the perfect complement to our strong undergraduate program in business administration,鈥� Finlay said. 鈥淲e have faculty teaching these ag courses that have real-world experiences with on-farm production, agribusiness management, and leadership, coupled with studying agriculture and business at Midwest land-grant universities. We are truly excited about the potential value that we will be creating for our students, our communities and the ag-based employers where they may be employed.鈥�

The business faculty is also excited about the opportunity this program creates for transfer students.

鈥淲e have attempted to make the program transfer-friendly with local junior colleges,鈥� said Jerry Allen, adjunct associate professor of business. 鈥淚t will allow the student to attend a junior college for two years and come to 番茄社区 University and complete a business degree with an emphasis in Ag Management in 4 years total with a little planning.鈥�

Allen also noted, where a lot of programs are heavily science based, HLGU will take a much different approach and emphasize the role of business in agriculture.

The program will primarily be led and taught by Finlay and Allen. Finlay earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Quincy University. He鈥檚 a certified public accountant (CPA) with 30 years of executive leadership experience, of which 25 years were in the animal nutrition business with a Fortune 50 Global Food company. Finlay was also raised on a farm and has been involved in animal agriculture his entire life.

Likewise, Allen earned an MBA, with an emphasis in marketing, from University of Missouri, Columbia. He鈥檚 a member of both the Ralls County and Missouri Cattlemen鈥檚 Association, and serves on the Soil and Water Conservation Board for Ralls County. Allen has 44 years of teaching experience and 20 years of retail business experience. He and his wife Meri have owned and operated a cattle farm for almost 40 years, running a cow-calf operation with Shorthorn/Angus cross cattle.

Dr. Larinee Dennis, vice president for academic administration, said this new concentration will also expand HLGU鈥檚 reach to service the needs of prospective students and the community.

鈥淗LGU is physically located in the rural tri-state area of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois, and over the years we鈥檝e heard prospective students express an interest in studying agribusiness.聽 Until now, we haven鈥檛 been able to meet that need,鈥� said Dennis. 鈥淭he new agribusiness concentration in the business administration degree program will equip students to learn the necessary business knowledge and skills to support agriculture endeavors on a small or large scale.鈥�

For more information on the new agribusiness concentration contact Tim Finlay at 573.629.3028 or tim.finlay@hlg.edu.