U of S only Canadian university to receive funding from leading American co-operative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 17, 2013 SASKATOON - The University of Saskatchewan's Centre for the Study of Co-operatives has been awarded $100,000 from CHS Inc., the largest agricultural co-operative in the United States, to develop new courses for a graduate program focusing on learning opportunities in co-operatives.

The funds will be used to develop a collection of hands-on activities, including case studies, a case competition and problem-focused research projects that will tackle critical challenges facing co-operatives and other sectors of the economy.
The program will be offered through the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (JSGS) and is part of CHS's $2 million University Initiative on Cooperative Education. The U of S is the only Canadian university to receive the funding.
The work will be undertaken by a team that includes JSGS professors Murray Fulton and Dionne Pohler, as well as the centre's Audra Krueger.
"Experiential learning provides students with opportunities to connect theory and practice — precisely the skills required by both students and the co-operatives with which they will be working," explained Fulton, who is also a Fellow in Agricultural Co-operation at the Centre.
"CHS's initiative will support an extensive range of programs within North American institutions that integrate education about co-operatives into agri-business curriculums, co-op development and farm business studies," said David Bielenberg, CHS board chair. "As a farmer-owned co-operative, CHS is committed to investing in the future of the co-operative system."
"We are thrilled to be part of CHS's major investment in building understanding of the co-operative business model," said Centre Director Lou Hammond Ketilson. "Co-operatives and the social economy generally have been underexploited by business, policy, and social science researchers."
"This initiative builds on more than eight decades of working with agricultural, co-operative, and education entities, as well as the 20 year legacy of our co-op education program," said William Nelson, president of the CHS Foundation and vice-president, CHS Corporate Citizenship.
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For more information contact:
Lou Hammond Ketilson,
Centre for the Study of Co-operatives
306- 966-8509
mailto:hammondk@edwards.usask.ca
Murray Fulton,
Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy
306-966-8507
mailto:murray.fulton@usask.ca
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