Michael L. Cook is the Robert D. Partridge Endowed Professor in Organization Economics in the Division of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Missouri, Columbia (MU).  His research activities include work in more than 60 countries and 100 published works. His primary research addresses the ownership costs of vaguely defined property rights in patron-owned and controlled enterprises.  His research and outreach work is embedded into Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership (GICL) programs.

Dr. Cook is Executive Director of GICL.  He served for 12 years in senior management positions with three global enterprises, two of them cooperatives, and has occupied board positions with numerous cooperatives, subsidiaries, and associations.  In May 2012, Cook was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame at the National Press Club, Washington, DC.  In 2015, Cook received the Frederick B. Mumford Outstanding Faculty Award at MU, which recognizes a faculty member with a sustained record of excellence in teaching, research, and/or extension/outreach who is viewed as an exemplary educator by both students and faculty.

Education
Ph.D. 1976 University of Wisconsin (Agricultural Economics, Minor in Quantitative Methods). Ph.D. Dissertation “An Economic and Legal Analysis of Farmer Cooperative Equity Redemption Policies”
M.S. 1974 University of Wisconsin (Economics)
B.A. 1965 University of Wisconsin (History and International Relations)

Contact
Department of Agricultural Economics
University of Missouri
125C Mumford Hall
Columbia, MO 65211-6200
Phone: 573-882-0127
Fax: 573-882-3958
Email: cookml@missouri.edu