Penn State Offers Agribusiness Executive Education Program

Universities big and small offer business-related programs where executives can chat with MBAs about LBOs, REITs, CEOs, and other alphabetical aspects of high finance. However, relatively few institutions have targeted agriculture-related businesses as a market niche--until now.

The Penn State Agribusiness Executive Program, to be held May 17-22 at the University Park campus, is a unique program aimed at high-level executives and managers.

As part of a joint outreach effort, the College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State's Smeal College of Business Administration have developed an educational program designed for progressive agribusiness companies. The intensive, weeklong program will be presented by the business college's Penn State Executive Programs staff and College of Agricultural Sciences faculty members in the Executive Education Center on the University Park campus.

Agriculture-related businesses are in a transitional period between catering to local or specialized markets and reaching out to national or global customers. In a rapidly changing business environment, executives cannot afford to fall behind or conduct business as usual. According to Pat Heuser, director of college relations, the new executive program provides insight and instruction that is directly relevant to unique aspects of agribusinesses, from food processors to confectioners to cabinet companies.

"Agribusiness issues are complex and different from other industries," explains Dick Zimmerman, retired chairman and CEO of Hershey Foods. "An executive seminar addressing such issues as impacts of federal and state regulations and legislation, transportation of perishable products, international commodity marketing, and consumer market research would give any savvy executive a leg up on the competition."

The seminar will cover topics such as global competition, creating value, shifting consumer preferences, and leading change within an organization. The intensive workshop atmosphere combines feedback and contributions from the participants with more formal instruction from the Penn State Executive Programs staff. In addition, the small class size encourages learning in a highly interactive atmosphere.

The faculty for the executive program includes experts on finance, transportation and logistics, and global competition from the Smeal College of Business Administration, and specialists in agricultural economics from the College of Agricultural Sciences. Executives from agribusinesses also will be featured presenters.

"Bringing in executives from a wide spectrum of agribusinesses will make Penn State's Agribusiness Executive Program a really worthwhile learning experience," says John Zerbe, senior vice president of Purina Mills.

For more information on programs or content, contact Jim Menoher at (800) 311-6364 or (814) 865-3435, or write to Penn State Executive Programs, The Smeal College of Business Administration, The Pennsylvania State University, 310 Business Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802-3003, or contact Debra Sheaffer-Ellis, Conference and Short Course Office, 306 Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802-2601. Information on the program also is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.cas.psu.edu (click on "conferences") or http://www. smeal.psu.edu/psep.

–John Wall