![\"Calvin](\"http:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/ibendahl_001-1024x717.jpg\")
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By Rebecca Renshaw<\/p>\n
Gilbert Kroening first came to know Calvin Ibendahl when\u00a0they both attended SIU as students. Later, their paths crossed\u00a0again when Kroening returned to SIU as the dean of the College of\u00a0Agriculture at the same time Ibendahl re-enrolled in SIU.<\/p>\n
Ibendahl, a World War II and Korean War veteran, had been\u00a0unable to continue farming while originally attending SIU, so he left\u00a0the university during his senior year in 1956. He soon was able to\u00a0buy a bigger farm and found success.<\/p>\n
It was only when Kroening returned to SIU that he and William\u00a0Doerr, then the assistant dean of the college, found a way for\u00a0Ibendahl to finish his degree in agriculture.<\/p>\n
Kroening, B.S. \u201959 and M.S. \u201960, explains: \u201cCalvin only needed\u00a0one or two more courses of general study courses, but his farming\u00a0activities in the spring and fall always got in his way. So we found a\u00a0way to allow him to start a course in the spring and then finish it in\u00a0the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that point, Ibendahl and his wife, Jean, were successful, so it\u00a0wasn\u2019t about getting the degree to make a living. It was more about\u00a0finishing what he had started \u2013 and that\u2019s just what he did, earning\u00a0his bachelor\u2019s degree in ag business in 1983.<\/p>\n
While Calvin Ibendahl was considered an introvert, his wife\u00a0was just the opposite. Ibendahl was considered a progressive\u00a0farmer for his time, and his spouse was equally driven. As a\u00a0strong proponent of women in agriculture, she served as vice\u00a0chairman of American Agri-Women and was president of Illinois\u00a0Women for Agriculture and chairman of the National Livestock\u00a0and Meat Board. She also was a member of a U.S. Department of\u00a0Agriculture task force to help improve high school agriculture\u00a0economics programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose opposite personality traits are probably what helped them\u00a0to be such a successful and influential couple,\u201d Kroening said.<\/p>\n
The Ibendahls also initiated the Daughters of American\u00a0Agriculture Scholarship in 1991. This scholarship is available\u00a0to any woman between the ages of 18 and 23 who is engaged\u00a0in farming, ranching or agribusiness. It supports the pursuit of\u00a0accredited courses in agriculture leadership, communications,\u00a0rural sociology, medicine or any other courses directly\u00a0benefiting agriculture.<\/p>\n
Calvin Ibendahl died in 2006; his wife continued the couple\u2019s\u00a0legacy until her death in early 2017.<\/p>\n
The Ibendhals maintained a strong affinity for SIU, and in\u00a0the early 1970s they gave a substantial real estate gift to the\u00a0university. In their last years they arranged to give an estate\u00a0gift of $300,000, ensuring that their legacy could be carried out\u00a0far beyond their lifetimes.<\/p>\n
Rhiannon Storm, development officer for the College of\u00a0Agriculture, said she came to know Jean Ibendahl personally over\u00a0the last few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cJean wanted to make a mark and leave a legacy,\u201d Storm said.\u00a0\u201cSince they never had children of their own, she liked to think the\u00a0SIU students were her children. She just had a helping heart. She\u2019d\u00a0be pleased to know students are the ones that will end up benefiting\u00a0from the Ibendahl legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about the needs of the College of Agricultural Sciences, visit\u00a0http:\/\/foreversiu.org\/colleges-units\/agricultural-sciences.php<\/a>.<\/p>\n Engage with us on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Rebecca Renshaw Gilbert Kroening first came to know Calvin Ibendahl when\u00a0they both attended SIU as students. Later, their paths crossed\u00a0again when Kroening returned to SIU as the dean of the College of\u00a0Agriculture at the same time Ibendahl re-enrolled in SIU. Ibendahl, a World War II and Korean War veteran, had been\u00a0unable to continue farming … Continue reading Big hearts with big dreams<\/span>