Howard Edward Babcock (February 23, 1889 – July 12, 1950) was the
chairman of Cornell Board of Trustees The Cornell University Board of Trustees is the board of trustees for Cornell University, a private, Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York. The board is vested with "supreme control" over the entire university, in accordance to unive ...
from 1940 to 1947. He served on the
Federal Farm Board as well as on the board of the
Central Bank for Cooperatives. He was co-president of the
National Cooperative Council and chairman of the
American Institute of Cooperation.
Biography
He was born on February 23, 1889. He graduated from
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
and studied agriculture in the
Cornell Summer School of 1911. He then taught school and later became a professor of
marketing in the
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. While he was a professor, the
Cooperative Grange League Federation Exchange
Agway of DeWitt, New York, is an American agricultural business that offers feed for livestock and poultry, as well as seed, fertilizers, and herbicides.
History
Agway was formed on July 25, 1964, from a merger between the Grange League Federat ...
, a failing farmer's cooperative, requested Babcock's help. Under his management, the cooperative became the largest
farmer's cooperative in the world.
[Bishop, Morris, A History of Cornell (Cornell University Press) p. 525] Upon becoming the president of the
New York State Grange, Babcock became an ex officio Cornell Trustee in 1930. He served as chairman of the board from 1940 to 1947.
He died on July 12, 1950.
Legacy
He was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame in 1976.
References
External links
NY State Grange
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babcock, Howard E.
Syracuse University alumni
American cooperative organizers
1950 deaths
1889 births