Representatives from a leading financial services provider joined University faculty Wednesday to celebrate the launch of the Farmland Research Center. 

The purpose of this center is to enhance farmland research and initiatives for University students and the agricultural community.

TIAA-CREF is a not for profit founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1918 for the purpose of securing retirement funds for academics by investing in farmland-related projects. 

The company has been working on the program for two or three years and gave the University $5 million to help create it. 

The new center was approved by the board of trustees March 7 and will be housed within the University’s College of ACES building as a specialized academic unit, according to a news release. 

It will also support Farmdoc, the University’s research program on the agricultural sector. An advisory board comprised of TIAA-CREF and University representatives will provide guidance for the center. 

Heather Davis, head of TIAA-CREF’s global private fixed income and equity investments, represented TIAA-CREF’s at the celebration. 

“It’s an idea that was born out of a need that we found, to have quality data and deep research in the sector,” Davis said.

Chancellor Phyllis Wise spoke next and established herself as a supporter of TIAA-CREF and the new program. 

“I’ve always thought of TIAA-CREF as where I’d put my retirement money and never realized exactly how broad your interests are,” Wise said referring to the organization. 

She spoke about the founding of the University in 1867 as one of the first universities built on donated land and that because of this, the University has an obligation to help people. 

“Learning in the land-grant tradition means that … we work on fundamental problems, but you make sure that those fundamental solutions get translated into applications that make the world better and make it a better place for people,” Wise said.

She also said the new arrangement is a collaboration that has been in the works for many years.

“This new partnership that we are starting today, which really is a result of a lot of work that has gone on for several years, is such a wonderful culmination of a great deal of investment on your part and on ours,” Wise said.

Robert J. Hauser, dean of the College of ACES, used basketball to describe his feelings about this development. 

“It’s sort of like a basketball coach being asked after a big win, ‘So, how did it feel?’ And the coach’s typical response was ‘It’s about the kids,’ and in some sense, that’s very much how I feel, except that I really mean it.” 

Hauser added that as administrators, all they try to do is create conditions and an environment conducive to learning.

“If I can create an environment, if I can facilitate the conditions needed for faculty to thrive and to create programs like the one we’re talking about here — I’m happy,” he said.

Eleanor can be reached at [email protected].

Clarification: The $5 million is being given over a 3-year span. The University has not yet received the full amount.