Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies Fund: What We Do

Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies Scholarships

This Fund provides financial support to graduate students or law school students enrolled in an agricultural cooperative program or who can demonstrate how their field of study would relate to or benefit the agricultural cooperative industry.

2023 Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to these outstanding scholars!

Celina Georges

University of Missouri / Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Scholarship supported by contributions to the Ralph K. Morris Foundation

Celina Georges is a PhD student in Agribusiness and Organizations Management at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. She is originally from Campo Grande, a city in the Midwest of Brazil, and in 2023 had the opportunity to be a visiting researcher at the University of Missouri in the Department of Applied Social Sciences. Since 2022, Celina is also a member of Cooperativa de Trabalho em Desenvolvimento Rural e Agronegócio, a worker cooperative located in Brazil, where she teaches financial management and math in a technical online course in agribusiness and sometimes provides project consultancy. In 2015 she completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After two years working in the tourism area, Celina started her master’s in Business in Brazil, which was also her first year in contact with her object of studies, agricultural cooperatives. Since then, she has been researching governance in agricultural cooperatives. Her studies and research with agricultural cooperatives have been supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior–CAPES. Celina intends to continue developing research with agricultural cooperatives after finishing her studies and to teach classes on the financial management of rural organizations.

Behnam Hassanizadeh

Oklahoma State University
Scholarship supported by a cooperative education grant from the CHS Foundation

Behnam Hassanizadeh is a PhD student in agricultural economics at Ferguson College of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. His research focus revolves around cooperative companies, particularly cooperative grain elevators. Behnam's life journey began in Iran. He attended elementary and high school at the National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents (NODET), where he discovered his passion for mathematics. This early fascination set the stage for his academic pursuit of a degree in Petroleum Engineering at Iran's prestigious Sharif University of Technology (SUT). As Behnam advanced through his bachelor's program at SUT, his engineering insights expanded, and he began to explore the realms of organizations, management, and computer programming. To further expand his horizons, Behnam pursued an MBA specializing in strategy at another esteemed institution in Iran. This program introduced him to the intricacies of supply chain management, and it was here that his diverse background bore its first fruit—a meticulously designed supply chain system for distributing COVID-19 vaccines in Melbourne, Australia. Inspired by his international experience, Behnam sought opportunities abroad, which led to his work at Oklahoma State University. Cooperative environments provide him with the ideal platform to drive transformative changes, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of agricultural operations with his robust educational background in management, complemented by his mathematical insight.

Katrina Klett

University of Minnesota
Scholarship supported by a cooperative education grant from the CHS Foundation

Katrina Klett is a PhD student at the University of Minnesota, where she researches honey bee health and how to improve federal agricultural policy to help producers transition to the climate smart agriculture of the future. She is a lifelong beekeeper and Sioux Honey Co-op member. She comes from a family beekeeping operation and grew up traveling between Jamestown, North Dakota to produce honey and Sour Lake, Texas to breed queen bees. She runs a social enterprise in the Himalayas, helping beekeepers to reach better markets and is interested in better supply chains as a way to help farmers further improve their incomes and diversify their operations. Katrina plans to continue her studies after finishing her PhD and is keen to work with others on improving legislation for producers in the next Farm Bill.

ELROY WEBSTER COOPERATIVE STUDIES PROGRAM APPLICATION GUIDELINES

The Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies (EWCS) program provides a scholarship and honorary award to graduate students interested in the study of agricultural cooperatives.

ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA

Graduate student or law school student enrolled in an advanced degree program (Masters or Doctorate).
The program must be an accredited academic program in the US.
Any field of study with an interest in agricultural cooperatives. If the field of study is not directly related to agricultural cooperatives, please demonstrate how this field of study would relate to or benefit the agricultural cooperative industry.
Scholarship recipient is eligible to receive only one scholarship.
Up to two EWCS Fellows Scholarships at $2,500 will be granted per calendar year. These scholarships are funded by the CHS Foundation.
Up to three EWCS Scholars will be awarded $1,000 scholarships per calendar year. These scholarships are funded by donors of the Ralph K. Morris Foundation.
The same application will be considered for both EWCS Fellows and EWCS Scholars awards.
Funds will be used to cover costs associated with tuition, fees, books, supplies or equipment while attending qualifying graduate degree class or program or law school class or program.
Morris Foundation trustees and staff, including their immediate families, are ineligible to apply for a scholarship.
The Scholarship will be awarded without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, or disability.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT

Each recipient is encouraged to attend a Ralph K. Morris Foundation-sponsored event., e.g., Lyon Family Leadership Symposium held annually in November/December or the Farmer Cooperatives program also held annually in November/December, upon receipt of the award. The recipient will be recognized at the event.

TIMELINES

We will begin accepting applications in January of any given year. Applications will be taken through September 30 of that same year. The scholarship recipients will be notified by October 31.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Complete an application form (link is below) in the timeline noted above.
Your application must include:
— A completed online application form;
— Your undergraduate and current graduate or law school transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable);
— Three letters of support (recommendation letters).
— Optional: Additional documentation of your professional development or extra-curricular activities involving cooperatives.
If applications are incomplete they will not be processed.
Apply online using the link below or you may email the completed application and required additional information to: rkmorrisfoundation@gmail.com.
Questions can be directed to the business office at rkmorrisfoundation@gmail.com or to the Chair of the Board, William Nelson, at wjnelson49@gmail.com.

SELECTION PROCESS

The program is administered and managed by the Ralph K. Morris Foundation.

All eligible recipients will be approved within the limits of the program as stated above and as long as funds are available (on an annual basis) for distribution.

Notification of the status of each request will be sent via email when a decision is made.

EVALUATION

Recipients must complete and return to the Foundation an evaluation within 30 days of completion of the class or program. Evaluation form must be submitted online.

PROGRAM SUPPORT

The Ralph K. Morris Foundation, through the generosity of specific contributions received from friends and family of Elroy Webster, established the Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies program. Contributions to the Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies program are welcome. Checks should be written to the Ralph K. Morris Foundation with a notation in the memo line for the Elroy Webster Cooperative Studies program.