Former MSU President Cofer headed to Brazil on grant

Former Missouri State University President James Cofer, who now serves as a professor for the school's College of Business, has been awarded a grant to lecture and conduct research in Brazil for the 2014-15 academic year.

Cofer is among some 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals selected to travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, the government's flagship international educational exchange program. The program is primarily funded by an annual appropriation made by Congress to the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, according to a news release.

Cofer will travel to Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil. During the academic year, Cofer will research models of student persistence behavior, developing strategies for retention and graduation.

The MSU professor started as university president in August 2010, but resigned from the position less than a year later. Clif Smart, former general counsel of the school, stepped in as interim president and was named to the position permanently in October 2012, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.[[In-content Ad]]