Brady J. Deaton became the 21st chief executive officer of the University of Missouri on Oct. 4, 2004. Prior to his time at the University of Missouri, he taught at the University of Tennessee, where he was appointed as staff director of the Special Task Force on Food for Peace for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Virginia Tech. In 2011 President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Deaton chairman of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development (BIFAD).  He also chairs the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education (COPHE), and served as chair of the Academic Affairs Council of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). Dr. Deaton participates in advisory roles with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and maintains active membership in the American and International Agricultural Economics Associations.