Noble Foundation's impact on global agriculture serves as topic for upcoming Profiles and Perspectives event

NEWS RELEASE
Issued - January 12, 2012

ARDMORE, Okla. — Having endured the devastating Dust Bowl of the 1930s, oilman and philanthropist Lloyd Noble established The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in 1945 as a vehicle to improve agricultural practices and land stewardship in the Southern Great Plains.

Today, the Noble Foundation impacts global agriculture through plant science research, agricultural programs and charitable granting. In the third installment of the 2011-2012 Profiles and Perspectives season, the Noble Foundation's leadership team will provide a special look into the organization's own pioneering history and research.

Entitled "Growing a Better Tomorrow: The Noble Foundation's Role in World Agriculture," the program will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, at the Ardmore Convention Center. As with all Profiles and Perspectives programs, the event is free and open to the public.

"For more than a decade, Profiles and Perspectives has brought nationally renowned speakers to southern Oklahoma to discuss their impact on society and the world," said Mary Kate Wilson, Noble Foundation director of granting and chair of the Profiles and Perspectives Committee. "For this event, we decided to turn the spotlight on our own organization and show how research and programs conducted right here in southern Oklahoma are benefiting mankind around the world."

As part of the program, the Noble Foundation's division directors - Drs. Charlie Brummer, Billy Cook and Rick Dixon - will discuss how the Noble Foundation's research and consultation efforts are providing solutions to today's agricultural producers. The group will also highlight the looming crisis in agriculture and discuss how specific Noble Foundation projects are attempting to meet these challenges.

The Profiles and Perspectives program will also be the first public event for the Noble Foundation's new President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Buckner, who will speak briefly at the end of the program. "The Noble Foundation is a vital entity in shaping the future of agriculture," Buckner said. "I am excited to lead this world-class organization into the next era, as well as to join the southern Oklahoma community."

Buckner, who will begin his tenure on Jan. 16, 2012, most recently served as president and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP and has more than 30 years of experience within various agricultural industries.

The Profiles and Perspectives season finale will take place on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, with Michael Wallis' presentation "A Journey Through Oklahoma and the Wild West." A best-selling author and award-winning reporter, Michael Wallis is a historian and biographer of the American West. Wallis will speak about the Wild West aspects of Oklahoma, as both a territory and state, based on his research and writing.

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For media inquiries concerning the Noble Foundation, please contact:

J. Adam Calaway

jacalaway@noble.org

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. (www.noble.org), headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a nonprofit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement and plant biology research; assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs; and providing grants to nonprofit charitable, educational and health organizations.