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A steering committee has begun work on designing a new agricultural law program at IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

The program, announced in October 2017, is being launched in cooperation with Purdue University. Amy Cornell, '06 graduate of IU McKinney and a graduate of Purdue University, has been retained as a consultant and has assembled a steering committee to build the program.

In March, members of the steering committee began their work with the goal of launching the new program in 2019. The steering committee members are:

• Harrison Pitman, The National Ag Law Center
• Professor Tom Wilson, IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law
• Assistant Dean Shawn Donkin, Purdue University College of Agriculture
• Sarah Simpson, Indiana Board of Animal Health
• Bill Even, National Pork Board
• John Newton, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Brandt Hershman, '14, Barnes & Thornburg
• Ron Walker, The Nature Conservancy
• Eric Hobson, Dow AgroSciences
• Kathy Mayberry, AgReliant Genetics, LLC
• Professor Maria Marshall, Purdue University

“Over the past several months, we’ve been working hard to survey the landscape of food and agricultural law programs and to assemble our steering committee,” Cornell said. “Each person on the committee was chosen for their specific skillset and perspective on agricultural law. I am thrilled that they have agreed to share their time and talents to develop this very exciting program.”

The steering committee will be tasked with ensuring that the program meets the needs of the agricultural law market and appeals to a wide student base.  Members will also have input on the curriculum of the program, experiential and capstone learning opportunities and overall promotion of the program.

“It’s an honor to serve on the Steering Committee,” said Hershman. “I am the product of a family farm and a longtime believer in strengthening Indiana’s presence in agricultural law, having funded the creation of the program during my tenure in the Indiana State Senate.

“This program, bringing together key assets from IU and Purdue, will strengthen Indiana’s ag sector, give students the opportunity to become top lawyers in a growing specialty area of law, and enhance the educational offerings of our state’s world-leading public universities,” Hershman said.

“We are delighted that the new Agricultural Law Program will be guided by the recommendations of dedicated individuals with an in-depth knowledge of the area of the law,” said IU McKinney Law Dean Andrew R. Klein. “We are looking forward to hearing the steering committee’s recommendations for this innovative new program.”