Eustis, Nebraska, and Washington, D.C. are pretty far apart, but Clayton Yotter was able to bridge the gap between the two by using the power he gained in the nation’s capital to improve agricultural trade in the Midwest.
His autobiography, “Rhymes with Fighter: Clayton Yotter, American Statesman” It was launched at the Sheldon Museum of Art on November 4. Biography written by Joseph Weber, Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Besides being asked to write an autobiography by University of Nebraska Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green, Weber was very attached to Yotter’s story.
“I wouldn’t have put up with this if it wasn’t for me,” Webber said. It piqued my interest because Yotter was a firm believer in free trade. His belief that free trade would make us all better was inspiring. It’s a classic poverty-to-riches story.”
The book began in the 1930s, when Yotter grew up on his family’s farm in Eustis, Nebraska. over 2500 acre The farm in central Nebraska where Yotter gained his understanding of farming. While serving in the military and attending school, Weber said Yotter still found time to run his farm.
“His dad wasn’t particularly warm as a person and his mom was wonderfully supportive of him,” Webber said. “And these two personal dynamics surprised me.”
Yotter left the farm to serve in the Air Force and continue his education at UNL, where he earned three degrees: a bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry, a doctorate in agricultural economics and law. Degree.
He moved through companies practicing law and took over as president and CEO of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It is one of the largest futures markets in the world that follows standards in stocks and can be used as an introduction markets.
Webber said that after seven years at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Straw became the US Trade Representative under the Reagan administration. Weber said the position was probably the most distinguishable from Yeutter, and this was the third time Yeutter had served in a position at the Treasury level.
American trade agent It is all about making trade deals, creating trade agreements, opening up the world to trade and fighting with other countries that may have interfered with it.
Yotter continued to work in Washington and asked President George HW Bush to be the United States Secretary of Agriculture. Webber said his job was to encourage farmers to sell corn and beef abroad to expand their markets.
“This was a very revolutionary thing,” Weber said.
After his stint with President Bush, Yotter continued to pursue his passion for agriculture, international trade and law while representing clients and serving in numerous boards From 1992-2015.
strains Died in 2017, but his legacy lives on at UNL at Clayton Yotter Institute for International Trade and Finance, a a program Where students take courses in global economics and international trade. The Yeutter Institute also offers a professional student development program called Yeutter Student Fellows.
Besides coursework, Yeutter Institute offers internship opportunities for students. One Internship, Steve Nelson Yotter Institute International Trade Internship an award, in heart trade policy The Community in Washington, D.C. Upon acceptance into the internship, students will be able to work directly with the Executive Director and Director General of the Washington International Trade Association in planning trade policy events and researching issues related to agricultural trade.
Jill O’Donnell, director of the Yotter Institute and Professor of Practice, said she is studying layers in international trade and politics. As the program’s new director, O’Donnell has noted a lot of work is being done to standardize the program. More classes were added and as leaders in each college began to take over, the program became even more surreal.
“It was really coming from the ground floor to build this institute,” O’Donnell said.
Assuming her position in July 2018, she said she helped create three new faculty chairs, as Yotter envisioned for the program. The three The faculties that make up the institute are the faculties of agricultural sciences, natural resources, law and business. It was the three colleges where Yotter studied the most and were the most beneficial to his career.
“He had a clear vision of what he wanted to see at this institute here at UNL,” O’Donnell said. “And which included the structure of the three chairs, that these colleges should certainly cooperate in this matter.”
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