Development Direction
Terry Emerson led the charge to start the Mark Crenshaw Extension Swine Research Endowment for Excellence.
New endowment honors longtime Extension swine specialist
Story by Nathan Gregory • Photo by Kevin Hudson
In his 34 years as swine specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, Dr. Mark Crenshaw was one of the state’s most prominent advocates for the pork industry. Now, an Extension endowment fund bears his name.
The Mississippi Pork Producers Association (MPPA) has established the Mark Crenshaw Extension Swine Research Endowment for Excellence with a $25,000 pledge to Extension. Donations will be used to advance Extension, research, and outreach efforts related to swine production and best management practices. Funding will also be used for 4-H and youth activities associated with Extension’s swine programs.
“This endowment will help advance swine industry research and outreach for many years to come.”
— WILL STAGGERS
Crenshaw retired as a faculty member of the MSU Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences in 2018.
Terry Emerson, MPPA president and general manager of Prestage Farms of Mississippi, led the charge to start the endowment. The farm partnered with MSU in 2013 to install feeding, watering, and temperature-control systems for swine research at the H. H. Leveck Animal Research Center.
“Dr. Crenshaw has always been someone I can trust as a sounding board for ideas and guidance,” Emerson explains.
“He was an excellent advisor, teacher, and researcher for Extension and animal and dairy sciences. He was an ideal mentor, not only for students, but also for producers of every operational scale, from small-scale pork producers to larger ones.”
Emerson refers to Crenshaw as “the rock” of MPPA, representing Mississippi on the National Pork Producers Council, a trade association and advocacy group for U.S. pork producers and other industry stakeholders.
“Crenshaw was very knowledgeable in all areas of our industry, and he leaves a legacy that will be hard to match,” Emerson adds. “As an organization, we felt this endowment was the best way to make sure his legacy remains while producers and future students benefit.”
The association’s long-term goal is to increase the endowment and create a professorship in Crenshaw’s honor.
“Dr. Crenshaw was highly regarded in his role as MSU Extension swine specialist, and we are thankful that Terry and the MPPA board felt it appropriate to recognize his work in this way,” says Will Staggers, MSU Foundation director of development for Extension. “This endowment will help advance swine industry research and outreach for many years to come.”
To learn more about opportunities to support this endowment and other Extension programs, contact Staggers at (662) 325-2837 or wstaggers@foundation.msstate.edu.
