Craig Gundersen becomes inaugural Snee Family Chair in Food Security at Baylor University
WACO, Texas (Oct. 4, 2021) – The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (BCHP) announced today that Craig Gundersen, Ph.D. – one of the nation's leading experts and sought-after voices on strategies to address food insecurity, with a special emphasis on publicly funded nutrition programs – has been selected as the inaugural Jim and Tammy Snee Family Chair in Food Security. Gundersen comes to Baylor University from the University of Illinois, where he was a Distinguished Professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics.
The Snee Family Chair in Food Security will provide support for Gundersen's research within BCHP, expanding the organization's work to alleviate poverty and hunger in communities around the country and the world. The Snee Chair, which was announced earlier this month, was established by Jim and Tammy Snee of Austin, Minnesota, through the Baylor Academic Challenge, a dollar-for-dollar matching program intended to encourage other members of the Baylor community to contribute to endowment in support of research and to help recruit new faculty members within the initiatives of Illuminate, Baylor's strategic plan.
Gundersen will strengthen BCHP's focus on research as an essential tool in addressing challenges associated with poverty and lack of access to food resources. The Baylor Collaborative's work is among the strategic initiatives outlined within Illuminate, with Baylor becoming a recognized leader on poverty research and integrating social science with social responsibility.
"Our work at the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty stands on the pillars of research, policy and practice," said Jeremy Everett, executive director of BCHP. "Our field staff and partners around the country are on the front lines, practicing innovative solutions for lifting the burdens of poverty on individuals and communities. And our policy team works with legislators to create more just and equitable systems. But all this work would amount to spinning our wheels without solid research and evaluation to inform what we are doing. This has always been a vital component of our work, but the addition of Dr. Gundersen exponentially elevates our status as the premier research-focused organization devoted to alleviating hunger."
Speaking to Gundersen's future impact on the University, Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., said, "We are excited to welcome Dr. Craig Gunderson as the Snee Chair for the Baylor Collaborative for Hunger and Poverty. He is an accomplished economist and scholar working in applied areas studying how best to distribute food in ways that can serve the most vulnerable most efficiently. In addition, his commitment to ending hunger aligns well with Baylor's commitments as a Christian university."
Kathy Krey, Ph.D., BCHP's director of research and administration, noted that Gundersen's "exceptional knowledge on the economics of food insecurity and personal commitment to the intersection of economics and public service is a game-changer for us. We are truly honored to welcome him to the Baylor community."
In addition to his work with BCHP, Gundersen will be a valuable addition to the Department of Economics at Baylor, teaching courses on the economics of food security.
