Executive in Residence leaves behind positive impression
By Meghan Stewart, Corner Post staff

Executive-in-Residence Lise Herren was at the University of Missouri-Columbia April 5 and 6. Herren is a 1982 graduate of MU with a degree in agricultural economics. She later went on to get her masters in agricultural and applied economics at the University of Minnesota. She is currently the Vice President and Group Executive of Anheuser-Busch Packaging Group.

While visiting MU, Herren went to classes where she gave presentations about leadership and her reasoning behind it. She had lunch and dinner with current students and faculty of MU and was part of a roundtable discussion with around 30 students and guests.

“Kristen Smarr and Kelsey Thompson were flawless in their execution of the program,” Herren said. “It was a great mix of classroom teaching and roundtable discussions.”

Her leadership presentations brought together her definition and views of leadership with everyday examples and how to become a leader and use leadership roles in your future.

“Ms. Herren had some really good points about what leadership is,” said Ashley Vest, junior agricultural education major. “She was able to take her experiences and develop her own definition of leadership. I feel that everyone has a different view of what leadership is to them. Ms. Herren was able to prove that by explaining her ups and downs in her career and how they got her to where she is today.”

One of the classes she visited was associate professor Joe Parcell’s Agriculture Marketing & Procurement class. He felt she did a very good job and said that she made her experiences a learning opportunity for the students. Most guest speakers tell their story, but don't focus on helping students learn. Herren showed how she put her academic skills to use. (is this a quote? If it is, needs to be in quotes. If not, you don’t use the first name of a person already mentioned, you use the last name.)

But it was not just MU that was impressed by Herren.

“I was amazed at the caliber of students in CAFNR; their involvement in on-campus organizations, the types and frequencies of internships they have held and their ability and desire to interact with a corporate executive,” Herren said.

Since the program was inaugurated in 1997 Herren is only the fourth female of the 24 Executive-in-Residences MU has hosted. This was noticed not only by the students but by the faculty as well.

“I'm a huge supporter of the Executive-in-Residence program,” Parcell said. “I've hosted several ERP persons, each brings a unique perspective to our students. I hope I don't say this the wrong way, but I was very happy to see a female as an ERP. The demographics of the CAFNR student population have changed considerably over the past two decades, from predominately male to females making up a high portion of the student population. It's great, and important, to have a female role model for our students.”

Herren had some last words of advice to leave with all MU students. “Get involved - whether in campus clubs, internships, sports, on/off campus jobs, or community outreach. Just like the saying "Try before you buy" - try out several internships before you get set on a career direction. Know your Passion! You're likely to be more successful if you love what you are doing.”

 

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