BVU, Ag Partners strengthen communities through Strategic Partnership
Grant funding offered through a Strategic Partnership makes a BVU education more accessible, allowing Ag Parters employees and families the chance to build their careers and communities.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and Ag Partners have entered into a Strategic Partnership that will benefit both organizations as they work to strengthen people and the areas they serve.
Under the agreement, Ag Partners employees, as well as their spouses and dependents, may receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program courses.
“As one who graduated from Buena Vista University, I know the benefits of a BVU education and how deeply invested the University is when it comes to building Iowa and the Midwest by best serving the people who live and work here.”
Elissa Barrick, Ag Partners Director of Human Resources
BVU professors and staff are also available for training programs, workshops, and more should officials with Ag Partners seek those services and expertise.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Buena Vista University while expanding our benefits package for more than 275 employees at 17 locations throughout Iowa, the state we—and BVU—strive to serve better each day,” says Ag Partners CEO Troy Upah. “Grant funding that makes a BVU education even more accessible allows our team members and their families to build their careers while strengthening our organization and the communities and producers we continue to serve. It’s a win-win situation.”
Ag Partners, which counts a number of BVU graduates among its leadership personnel, offers a full range of agronomic services, grain handling, marketing, feed, energy, and precision-ag solutions across a geographic footprint that stretches across Northwest Iowa into Central Iowa.
“As one who graduated from Buena Vista University, I know the benefits of a BVU education and how deeply invested the University is when it comes to building Iowa and the Midwest by best serving the people who live and work here,” says Ag Partners Director of Human Resources Elissa Barrick.
“We’re extremely excited to be a partner with a market leader like Ag Partners in our Strategic Partnerships initiative,” says Katie Smith, BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships. “BVU’s vision is that, through education, we can continue to build upon the strengths already seen across Iowa on our farms, in our communities, and their schools. We are thrilled to be able to offer our expertise while allowing the valued team members at Ag Partners additional opportunities to further their education and receive a savings at the same time.”
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Katie Smith at SmithK@bvu.edu.