Department of Agricultural Economics Funding Priorities
Major fields of study within the Department of Agricultural Economics include Agribusiness Management, Food Industry Management, and Environmental Economics and Policy.
Endowed Environmental Economics Management program and chair:
MSU Center for Environmental Economics (CEE) The purpose of the MSU Center for Environmental Economics (CEE) is to provide knowledge, skills, and tools for building an environmentally sustainable economy with an emphasis on the Great Lakes basin. CEE conducts scientific research on the relationship between the economy and the environment. CEE produces accurate information on economic and environmental tradeoffs as well as the opportunities for complementary improvements in both the economy and environment. CEE works with public and private decision-makers to balance economic and environmental goals. CEE provides students with opportunities for learning environmental economics at MSU. Core areas include valuation of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands, rivers, lakes, and watersheds; benefit-cost analysis of water quality, air quality, land use, and wildlife policies; cost-effectiveness analysis of economic incentive approaches to achieving environmental goals; and developing tools and data bases for environmental accounting and life-cycle assessment. Products include a comprehensive web site, educational materials, research publications, public speakers, seminars, workshops, conferences, courses, internships, and scholarships.
MSU Center for Environmental Economics Endowed Chair of Environmental Economics Management
Global Agribusiness Program Agribusiness now operates in a global market and the economy is increasingly integrated internationally. The Global Agribusiness Program is targeted at people who want to refine their tools to capture international and domestic niche markets through a better understanding of the global economy and its impact on agriculture. The program will also train people who want to work abroad in the agribusiness sector. A programmatic endowment will name the program and insure ongoing funding for curriculum, student enhancement, and research needs with expenditures at the discretion of the program director.
Endowed Chair in Agribusiness An endowed chair would bring us new and expanded expertise that would positively impact our teaching and research programs. This individual would help mentor younger faculty, and help to lead development of the programs needed five and ten years from now. This individual would help MSU to respond more effectively to some of the critical agribusiness issues.
Agribusiness Resource Center (naming opportunity) The agribusiness resource center will be a comfortable community centered learning environment that will be heavily used by student, faculty and industry.
Endowed Food Industry Management Professorship This initiative will focus on bringing the latest pedagogical ideas to the classroom by supporting visiting scholar programs. Leading faculty and/or industry personnel could be brought on campus and financially supported for up to a two-year period. The visiting scholar can teach courses as well as assist in directing timely and critical research efforts and identifying curriculum and recruiting opportunities.
Agri-food Research Institute for Strategic Marketing (naming opportunity) The mission of the Agri-food Research Institute for Strategic Marketing will be to develop the strategic database capacity needed to support (1) the initial screening and evaluation of agri-food business/product concepts, and (2) the discovery of business/product concepts most relevant to Michigan. This capacity is the key to moving MSU's efforts to assist agri-food constituencies from a purely reactive mode to a proactive one. Strategic and marketing information are the key resources needed to assist firms, commodity groups, and entrepreneurs in the product agriculture arena. These resources are not likely to be developed by others because of their longer-run, research-based focus. Developing these resources thus fits best with a research university's core mission and would directly support the mission of the MSU Center for Product Agriculture.
Graduate research and fellowship endowment Endowed funds are needed for fellowships and research that will attract top quality graduate students to the department and maintain a nationally recognized graduate research program.
Faculty research endowment This initiative will focus on providing a mechanism for faculty to conduct leading-edge research that will be beneficial to industry. This applied research program will also be useful in training undergraduates for the world of work by supporting top students with research assistantships.
Endowed Food Industry Management scholarships This initiative will focus on providing scholarships to attract top students into the FIM major. Students tend to concentrate on at least four factors when considering a major: interest, job placement and career opportunities, career salary potential, and scholarship money available. The FIM program certainly offers excellent job placement and career opportunity as well as competitive career salaries. However, in the past we have only offered 5-10 scholarships per year ranging from $500 to $1,500 per scholarship. Attracting academically strong and motivated students will require a greater number of scholarships be made available. This program will also be of assistance in attracting minority candidates. Scholarships can take the form of annual stipends for tuition and overseas study programs as well as four-year guaranteed scholarships for top incoming freshman. Six such scholarships are need at $30,000 each.
Student enhancement endowment This initiative will focus on providing students with greater hands-on practical experience and an enhanced real-world perspective with the goal of creating more professional graduates who enter the job market better prepared to respond to the continuously changing and challenging food industry. Examples of activities designated for student enhancement include sending students to professional conferences and workshops, developing an Executive-in-Residence Program, creating an Executives-in-the-Classroom Program, and facilitating food industry tours and on-site professional meetings.