There are a few recurring themes in former MSU President M. Peter McPherson's work - agriculture, land-grant universities, and national and international politics.

McPherson, who stepped down from the top job at MSU in 2004 after 11 years, will renew his involvement with land-grant institutions when he takes over as president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, or NASULGC, in 2006.

He has spent the past year working with the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, an organization he co-founded to encourage agriculture and rural development in African nations.

McPherson said he has begun meeting with the group's executives, but his main focus will be the Partnership for the remainder of the year.

"I've got a lot to do here over the next few months," he said from the Partnership's Washington, D.C. office.

Current President C. Peter Magrath will conclude his 13-year tenure at the organization at the end of the year and will act as an adviser to the College Board, the organization that administers standardized tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT. McPherson was announced as Magrath's successor in August.

NASULGC works to organize communications between its 214 member institutions, and lobbies for state university and land-grant interests on Capitol Hill. McPherson, who has held past government posts as Treasury Department deputy secretary and counsel to both the Reagan and Ford administrations, said he feels comfortable working with legislators.

"Michigan and Washington, D.C. are my homes," he said.

McPherson's status as a Washington insider will be an asset to NASULGC, said Julie Howard, executive director of the Partnership.

"When you move around town, Peter is so well-known and well-liked among Republicans and Democrats," she said. "This will be a win for NASULGC to expand their international development."

McPherson will continue his involvement with the Partnership after he takes his post, Howard said, adding that several committee members will be taking on more active roles in his absence.

During his tenure at MSU, McPherson more than doubled participation in study abroad programs, an area he hopes to continue to support at NASULGC.

"We're going to be making some recommendations to dramatically increase study abroad across the nation," he said.

He wouldn't elaborate on other plans he has for the organization.

"I've got a lot of ideas, but I want to sit down with the board and sort them through," he said.

The continual defunding of universities by state governments poses a significant problem for state and land-grant colleges, a challenge he would like to take on, McPherson said.

"It has been particularly severe in Michigan the last year or so," he said. "The organization has an important role in articulating this issue."

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Dean Jeff Armstrong has worked with NASULGC on federal farm bills, and said McPherson's history at MSU and in government makes him a good fit for the job.

"I think we'll only see benefits," Armstrong said. "He's from Michigan, from a rural area. He's a product of the land-grant system."