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Farm Foundation President to Retire
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Farm Foundation President to Retire
OAK BROOK, IL, May 8, 2007: Farm Foundation President Walter J. Armbruster has announced his plans to retire early in 2008, according to Victor L. Lechtenberg, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Farm Foundation.
“Walt has been part of Farm Foundation for 30 years and directing it as president for the last 16 years. He has worked tirelessly to carry out the Foundation’s mission as a catalyst for agriculture, the food system and rural communities,” said Lechtenberg, who is vice provost of engagement for Purdue University.
“The Board knows it faces a significant challenge in finding a successor for Walt, given the legacy he leaves in economic and public policy work,” Lechtenberg added.
The Foundation’s Board of Trustees has established a Transition Committee to lead the search for a new president. Applications are being accepted and screening will begin on August 15, 2007, with a successor to be named in late 2007. A 
position announcement is posted.
“Farm Foundation has given me the privilege of working with many talented and dynamic professionals within the Farm Foundation family, and within the professional economic and public policy networks where the Foundation operates,” Armbruster said. “The challenges faced by the food system and rural communities are diverse and complex, and the Foundation continues its tradition of tackling those issues head-on. I am honored to have been part of it.”
Dr. Armbruster joined Farm Foundation as associate managing director in 1978. He was named managing director in 1991, with the title changed to president in 1999.
Dr. Armbruster serves as secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Agricultural Economists. He has also served as president of the American Agricultural Economics Association, the American Agricultural Law Association, and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association. He currently serves on the board of the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economists (C-FARE) and on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Armbruster worked in the U.S. Department of Agriculture on marketing efficiency, institutions and policy issues. He had assignments as staff economist in the Agricultural Marketing Service and a research position in the Economic Research Service. He has served as author or editor on a number of marketing research, education and policy publications and provided leadership to organize several institutions which continue to stimulate work in these areas.
Dr. Armbruster is a Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association. In 1999, he was named Purdue University Distinguished Agricultural Alumnus. The Indiana native earned his undergraduate and masters degrees in agricultural economics at Purdue and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Oregon State University.
Farm Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that works as a catalyst, bringing stakeholders together to examine critical issues and identify options to address those issues in agriculture, the food system and rural communities. Since it was established in 1933, the Foundation has focused on providing public- and private-sector leaders with comprehensive, objective analyses to enhance their decision-making processes. The Foundation does not lobby or advocate.