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The Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) presented a $5,000 check to Western Illinois University officials on Friday to pay for five $1,000 scholarships in the school’s supply chain management program. Pictured, from left, are WIU SCM junior Megan Wyffels; WIU SCM Professor Bart Jennings; ADM Vice President in ADM's transportation group Kim Ekena, a 1980 WIU alumnus; WIU College of Business and Technology Dean Tom Erekson; CBT Associate Dean John Drea and 2008 WIU SCM graduate Megan Opiekun, who is now employed by ADM.
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Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) Makes Scholarship Donation to WIU Supply Chain Management Program

December 19, 2011

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MACOMB, IL – Administrators and professors in Western Illinois University's College of Business and Technology accepted a donation from Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) Friday to fund scholarships for the University's supply chain management (SCM) program.

The $5,000 donation will fund five $1,000 scholarships to SCM students.

ADM is a large, global agribusiness, transforming oilseeds, corn, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. With more than 265 processing plants, 400 crop procurement facilities, and the world's premier transportation network, ADM helps connect the harvest to the home in more than 160 countries.

Kim Ekena, a 1980 WIU finance alumnus and a vice president in ADM's transportation group, was on WIU's Macomb campus Friday to present the scholarship money to University officials. Ekena said the company wanted to offer support to the supply chain management program because of the success that ADM has had with hiring graduates of the program.

"We wanted to offer the funding for these scholarships to help grow the program within the university," Ekena said.

The scholarship money comes from ADM Cares, a program that focuses on "supporting the responsible development of agriculture, improving the quality of life in ADM communities and fostering employee giving and volunteer activities."

To apply for the scholarships, WIU students must be majoring in SCM and have a minimum grade point average of 3.0. New freshmen must have an ACT score of at least 25.

The deadline for application is April 1 and the scholarships will be awarded by May 1.

WIU SCM Professor Bart Jennings called the scholarship money a "big boost" for WIU's program.

"This will help us attract more students," Jennings said. "We have developed similar relationships with companies like John Deere and others to create a good base of scholarships so we can compete with other schools for the best students."

For more information on ADM, visit adm.com and information about WIU academic programs is available at wiu.edu.

Posted By: Jodi Pospeschil (JK-Pospeschil@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing