First Farmers Bank & Trust establishes endowment for HU Ag Institute scholarship
First Farmers Bank & Trust has given Huntington University a gift of $5,000 and have pledged future gifts totaling $20,000 to fully endow a scholarship for the Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies by the end of 2018.
“With our roots heavily invested in the agricultural industry, it seemed like a natural fit to promote and support the Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies,” said Mark Wolf, First Farmers Bank & Trust Senior Vice President. “Developing new talent in the agricultural sector will be paramount in maintaining the competitive advantage the United States has in producing food and fiber for our world. We are pleased and consider it a privilege to partner with Huntington University in this mission.”
Founded in 1885, First Farmers Bank & Trust has steadfastly committed itself to preserving the traditions of rural banking and bringing that style of service to new markets. The privately-held financial institution is dedicated to serving its communities with state of the art banking products with old fashioned service. First Farmers Bank & Trust now serves over 50,000 clients throughout Indiana and Illinois.
“Financial support to launch the Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies has been outstanding,” said Vincent Haupert, Huntington University Vice President for Advancement. “First Farmers Bank & Trust takes the next step to establish the first, fully endowed, student scholarship to incentivize and benefit our Ag students. We are so blessed by their direct support for our students pursuing a successful career in the Ag industry.”
First Farmers Bank & Trust recognizes that its true sources of strength are local communities, which drives its efforts to give back through support for organizations working to strengthen local families and communities, such as Huntington University.
“Seeing First Farmers Bank & Trust support the new agriculture program is a great encouragement as we blaze this new path for Huntington University and for Christian higher education,” said Dr. Raymond Porter, Director of the Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies. “Not only that, this scholarship will also help students pursue a four-year degree in agriculture from a faith-based perspective in a personal, small-college environment. I suspect it may make the difference for students who want to come to HU to study agriculture, but who need some financial help to pursue that dream here. I’m thankful that First Farmers wants to help make it possible for such students—it speaks well of their name and their vision.”
The Haupert Institute for Agricultural Studies at Huntington University promotes a Christian perspective on agriculture, which recognizes a responsibility to be good stewards of God's creation and to examine questions of sustainability and justice.
The program is intended to meet the growing need for agribusiness professionals and is anticipated to include concentrations in business innovation and entrepreneurship, communication and public policy, crop production, agricultural education, and ministry and missions.
