It takes a special kind of Kentuckian to be given The Missourian Award.
Kentucky native Brady J. Deaton received a 2014 Missourian Award Sept. 27 in a ceremony at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, Missouri. The award recognizes Chancellor Emeritus Deaton’s academic and administrative career at the University of Missouri, which spanned nearly a quarter century, from 1989 to 2013.
Created by Ralph and Corrine Slavens, The Missourian Award honors outstanding citizens who were born in Missouri or became famous in Missouri.
Born in rural Kentucky to a family of modest means, Deaton rose through public schools and universities to become MU’s chancellor from 2004 to 2013. Previous roles at MU included provost, deputy chancellor and chair of the agricultural economics department.
In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed him chair of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development, an advisory group to the U.S. Agency for International Development, a position he still holds. He also serves as executive director of the Anne and Brady Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development housed at MU.
— Erik Potter
This story first appeared at MIZZOU magazine online.