August 2000
U Receives Gift
from General Mills for Chair in Genomics
for Healthful Foods
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL - The University of
Minnesota has received a gift of $1 million
from General Mills to expand research
in plant genomics and its application
to the development of food products that
improve human health. The gift will create
a new endowed faculty position called
the General Mills Chair in Genomics for
Healthful Foods, to be housed in the College
of Agricultural, Food and Environmental
Sciences. This gift brings General Mills'
contributions to Campaign Minnesota to
$2.5 million.
The chair will provide the leadership for
faculty in different disciplines to collaborate
on gaining a better understanding of how
the latest developments in agriculture,
cellular and molecular science, and medicine
work together to advance nutrition and
health, with a focus on human disease
prevention.
"The potential for the decoding of
genomic information to affect food, nutrition
and health through new food-based solutions
is staggering," commented University
President Mark Yudof. "With today's
debate over the applications of plant
genomics, it is important for research
institutions such as the University of
Minnesota to take the lead in providing
unbiased scientific information to the
public and to industry."
In commenting on the gift, General Mills
Chairman and CEO Steve Sanger said, "The
human genome project is going to make
it possible for people to know their genetic
predisposition to various health problems,
and that creates a tremendous opportunity
to develop foods that contain grains and
other ingredients that help people stay
well. This chair will support the kinds
of research into plant genomics that will
make that possible."
Creating new endowed faculty positions
is one of the priorities for Campaign
Minnesota, which aims to raise $1.3 billion
in private gifts by 2003 for endowment
and ongoing program support. Campaign
gifts through June total $857 million.
Since campaign counting began in July
1996, the number of endowed faculty positions
has increased from 240 to 291.
"There are two technological revolutions
occurring today that will change the way
we live: one in information technology,
the other in biotechnology," said
Sanger. "We know a lot more about
the first one, but in the long run the
biotechnology revolution will be every
bit as significant, maybe more, and the
University of Minnesota is in a wonderful
position to be one of its leaders."
General Mills has been a supporter of university
programs for more than 35 years, with
contributions going to the Bell Museum
of Natural History, scholarships for food
science and nutrition students, the Center
for School Change at the Humphrey Institute,
the Medical School, and a chair in cereal
chemistry and technology. The company
has made gifts totaling $2.5 million that
count toward Campaign Minnesota, in support
of scholarships, the Carlson School of
Management, the Weisman Art Museum, and,
now, the new endowed chair.
General Mills is a leading manufacturer
and marketer of consumer food products,
with fiscal 2000 worldwide sales of $7.5
billion. Major U.S. businesses include:
Big G ready-to-eat cereals, Betty Crocker
dessert, baking and dinner mix products,
snack products, and Yoplait and Colombo
yogurt. The company's expanding international
operations include company-owned businesses
in Canada, Mexico and China, as well as
a snacks joint venture in continental
Europe with PepsiCo and a worldwide cereal
joint venture with Nestle. More information
is available at www.generalmills.com.
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