Dr. Maria Boerngen began her role as Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) on May 1, 2023. In this role, Boerngen serves as the liaison between the University and the athletics department, and as a representative of the institution in Missouri Valley Conference and NCAA affairs. The role of the FAR is to ensure that the academic institution establishes and maintains the appropriate balance between academics and intercollegiate athletics.

An Associate Professor in the Department of Agriculture at Illinois State University, Dr. Boerngen teaches courses related to farm management, agriculture retail management, commodity futures and options, commodity pricing, and international trade. She also has focused her research as a member of the faculty in the areas of farm management, farmer education and outreach, nutrient loss reduction, and scholarship of teaching and learning.  She currently serves as editor of the Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

During her tenure at Illinois State, Boerngen has earned the Outstanding Research Award from the ISU Department of Agriculture (2020 & 2021), the ISU Department of Agriculture Harvey S. Woods Outstanding Teacher Award four times (2017-19, 2022) the Outstanding Service Award from the ISU Department of Agriculture (2022), the NACTA Educator Award (2020), and the NACTA Teaching Award of Merit three times (2017-2019).

She holds a PhD in Agricultural and Consumer Economics from the University of Illinois, a master’s in Agricultural and Consumer Economics from University of Illinois, and a bachelor’s in Plant and Soil Science from Southern Illinois University. She and her husband Eric, an Outreach Coordinator for Research and Graduate Studies at ISU, are avid fans of Redbirds Athletics and can be seen cheering on the Redbirds at events on and off campus.