ANR Alumni Association Award Recipients (2005)
To view the 2004 ANR Alumni Association Award recipients, click here.
For a complete list of past recipients of ANR Alumni Association Awards, click here.
Honorary Alumnus Award
Dr. Raleigh Barlowe
Dr. Raleigh Barlowe has educated generations of students at Michigan State University and beyond – teaching sound cross-disciplinary research methods and establishing connections for cooperation and development in state, national and international arenas concerning natural resource, environmental and land use policy issues central to the ongoing well-being of communities.
Dr. Barlowe came to MSU in 1948 as a lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics, later serving as chair of the Department of Resource Development. During his 10 years as chair, he was a key architect of the department, known throughout the world for its multi-dimensional and trans-disciplinary approach to natural and community resource management. The department’s ability to produce scholarly practitioners became the model of many other institutions of higher learning. Through his personal efforts and influence on students and colleagues, Dr. Barlowe has affected many people and communities in extraordinarily positive and substantive ways. He has been a strong supporter of student interests and an exemplary role model as a teacher and scholar. As a result, students developed the professional skills needed for making significant contributions throughout the world.
Although he retired in the early 1980s, Dr. Barlowe has maintained a continued presence within the Department of Resource Development (which was integrated into the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies in 2004). Although he is now in his 90s, he continues to be a mentor to students and junior faculty, and still writes intellectually stimulating publications. His commitment to MSU and especially to students, is manifest in the establishment of the Dr. Raleigh and Jean Barlowe Endowment for graduate student fellowships in Natural Resource and Environmental Economics. His gift of $1million will help ensure that MSU can continue in perpetuity to recruit and train the best doctoral students in natural resource and environmental economics.
Outstanding Alumnus Award
Dr. Willard Sparks
Dr. Willard Sparks had an outstanding record of achievement and leadership in many areas of agriculture and commodity marketing, analysis and consulting. Shortly after graduating from MSU in 1961 with a Ph.D. in agricultural economics, Dr. Sparks advocated the power of quantitative economics and the use of mathematical models to explain and forecast economic behaviors. He developed practical, systematic and analytical approaches to the “fundamental” analyses now in wide use in the United States Department of Agriculture and elsewhere to understand the volatile commodity markets. Dr. Sparks was also instrumental in the development of “audits” of inventory risk. Early in his career Dr. Sparks negotiated the first sale of US soybeans to the USSR, opening a quarter century of major grain trade for the United States.
In 1977 Dr. Sparks founded Sparks Commodities, which later became Sparks Companies, Inc. The company quickly became the leader in agricultural and commodity market research, analysis and consulting services, working with more than 750 firms and institutions, including Cargill, General Mills, Quaker and Ralston Purina. When Dr. Sparks sold the company in 2003 to the publicly held British firm, T & F Informa Group, PLC., its daily commodity briefings, market analyses and research studies were among the industry’s most widely read.
Dr. Sparks held memberships in the major U.S. Commodity exchanges: the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Board of Trade of Kansas City and the New York Cotton Exchange. From 1988 to 2003 he was chairman of the Public Building Authority of Memphis and Shelby County, an entity responsible for overseeing Memphis’ famed Pyramid Arena. He served on the boards of the Memphis Arts Council, Tennessee Arts Commission, International Brangus Breeders Association, University of Memphis’ President’s Board of Visitors, and the Oklahoma State University Dean’s Advisory Committee, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, among others.
Dr. Sparks passed away on January 30, 2005. At the time of his death he was vice president of Refco, LLC, a registered futures trading firm based in Chicago; co-founder of Vining Sparks IBG, a securities and investment firm; co-founding partner in Sparco Management; part owner of Cattleco, Inc., one of the nation’s largest cattle-feeding operations; and part owner of in the Memphis’ Redbirds, a minor league baseball club and AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Distinguished Faculty Award
Dr. Jianguo “Jack” Liu
Dr. Jianguo “Jack” Liu’s significant scientific contributions to understanding the relationship between man and the environment have earned him international stature as an ecologist. Dr. Liu is particularly interested in integrating ecology with socioeconomics and human demography/behaviors to understand the complexity of the world and to seek effective solutions to real-world problems. His research interests are expansive, including systems modeling and simulation, conservation ecology, landscape ecology, human-environment interactions and the effects of human population and activity on habitat for endangered species such as the giant panda. His research on panda conservation in China has gained international attention.
Dr. Liu is the Rachel Carson Chair in Ecological Sustainability and a professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, as well as Director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at MSU. A member of the MSU faculty since he completed his postdoctoral study at Harvard University in 1995, Dr. Liu has distinguished himself as an educator as well as a researcher. In recognition of his excellence in teaching, Dr. Liu was chosen as a Lilly Fellow in 1998-99, and received the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award in 2001-02. He has also been recognized with an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship from the Ecological Society of America, and the National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award.
His capabilities have attracted more than $14 million in research grants since 1995, providing Dr. Liu and Michigan State University the financial support needed to carry on a dynamic and robust research program. Dr. Liu is also very successful at matching student skill sets and capabilities with grant dollars, augmenting opportunities for students to showcase their knowledge and talent.
Dr. Liu’s work has been published in respected journals such as Nature and Science, and has been featured in numerous newspapers and electronic media. He has served on editorial boards of several journals and various panels including those organized by NASA and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). His trans-disciplinary approach and international perspective are highly sought after – he is often asked to review emerging environmental issues by key resource agencies, including the NSF, WWF, National Institutes of Health, National Academy of Sciences, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.