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March 1-2, 2010
I Hotel and Conference Center Champaign, Illinois 
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INVITATION TO THE 46th ANNUAL ILLINOIS CORN BREEDERS' SCHOOL March 1-2, 2010 I Hotel and Conference Center - Champaign-Urbana, Illinois You are cordially invited to attend the 46th Annual Illinois Corn Breeders' School to be held March 1-2, 2010 at the I Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 South First Street, Champaign, Illinois. As you can see, we are changing venues, moving to the new University I Hotel right across from the Assembly Hall and adjacent to the Research Park. Similar to venue changes from time to time, the Corn Breeders' School mission and outreach adjusts to keep up with the times. The first School was held in 1964 under the leadership of John Dudley, Bob Lambert, and the late Drs. D.E. Alexander, John Laughnan, Earl Patterson, and others. The School was first formed as an educational outreach to commercial corn breeders in the state of Illinois, though national and international attendance soon grew. At the outset of the School, the hybrid seed corn industry was comprised of many independent, privately-owned companies, and corn breeding was considered, perhaps, just as much an art as it was a science. This is no longer the case. The industry today is dominated by a relatively few, large, publically-owned, international corporations, and corn breeding is an industrialized and highly technical process. Today, each breeder is supported by an army of scientists working in biotechnology, genomics, statistics, data analysis, information management, and other highly specialized disciplines. Contributions from all are essential for launch of successful products. As you've seen in recent years, and will see from this year's program, the Illinois Corn Breeders' School is adjusting to this reality and attempting to provide an educational program filled with information relevant to the entire corn breeding process. Going forward, we ask your help in keeping the School relevant. Please continue to suggest topics and speakers that will keep the School on the cutting edge. We especially solicit suggestions of speakers within the industry itself. We also seek your help in widely disseminating this invitation and the outreach mission of the School to all within your organization who would benefit from attending. We hope to see you there. Yours truly, |