Donors endow Jack Hamilton Chair in Cotton Production
Feb 24, 2005 9:32 AM
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The LSU AgCenter will have a $1 million endowed position in cotton production as the result of industry donations honoring a man who was one of the driving forces in Louisiana cotton production.
The Jack Hamilton Chair in Cotton Production will be a memorial to Hamilton, an innovator and major part of the cotton industry across the country until his death in 2001.
Donations totaling more than $600,000 have been completed by the Louisiana Cotton Association, the Louisiana Cotton Producers Association, the Louisiana Cotton Ginners Association, the Louisiana Independent Cotton Warehouse Association, the Southern Cotton Ginners Association, Staplcotn and others associated with the Louisiana cotton industry. Those donations qualify the memorial chair for state matching funds in the amount of $400,000 through the Louisiana State Board of Regents.
Supporters of the endowed chair said it is important to honor Hamilton’s memory because of his long and distinguished career in the cotton industry — which included serving as an organizer and president of the Louisiana Cotton Producers Association and as president and chairman of the board of the National Cotton Council of America.
The purpose of the endowed position will be to continue development of new and improved technologies associated with cotton production. The person named as the Hamilton Chair recipient must have demonstrated excellence in cotton production research and must have a research program showing potential to provide significant contributions to improving the productivity, profitability and environmental friendliness of the production segment of the Louisiana cotton industry.
“We thank those in the cotton industry for their generous donations to this endowed chair,” LSU AgCenter Chancellor William B. Richardson said. “We know this endowed position can be an important element in the future of the cotton industry, as well as a memorial to the legacy of Jack Hamilton.”
A native of Mississippi, Hamilton was an LSU graduate and lived in Lake Providence, La., for many years.
