and serves on the SEC’s Content Committee that oversees the SEC Network. He also represents the SEC as a member of the College Football Playoff's (CFP) Board of Managers. In 2016, he was elected to serve a two-year term as the president of the Southeastern Conference. In 2018 Keenum was appointed as chair of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) by U.S. President Donald Trump. Personal life Keenum was born in Starkville, Mississippi, and grew up in Corinth, Mississippi. Keenum is married to the former Rhonda Newman of Booneville, Mississippi, also an MSU graduate. They have four children: Rett, Mary Phillips, Katie, and Torie. Honors Mississippi Delta Council Farm Policy Commendation (1996) Second Harvest Distinguished Public Service Award (2008) Congressional Awards Program Leadership Award (2010) Mississippi Press Association Distinguished Mississippian (2011) Seaman A. Knapp Lecturer (2014) References External links Mark Keenum Biography at Mississippi State University Mississippi State University alumni People from Starkville, Mississippi Living people Presidents of Mississippi State University Mississippi State University faculty People from Corinth, Mississippi 1961 births