Faculty and Staff News

Joseph Herriges joined MSU July as Professor, jointly appointed in AFRE and Economics.  His research spans environmental and resource economics and applied econometrics, with a focus developing techniques for improved estimation of recreational demand.

Stephen B. Lovejoy joined his AFRE tenure home as professor and extension specialist, after eight years as Associate Director of  MSU Extension.

Corey C. Risch joined the AFRE faculty as assistant professor, after a stint on the faculty at Eastern Kentucky University.  Her teaching and research focuses on agribusiness management, including human and financial resource management.

Lindon Robison was appointed Interim Chair for the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, effective May 9, 2014.

DaveWeatherspoon is spending Fall 2014 on sabbatical at the USDA Economic Research Service in Washington, DC.

Faculty Awards

Joseph Herriges was named Fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) at the World Conference of Environmental and Resource Economists in Istanbul on June 29, 2014. 

Tom Reardon was named a 2014 Fellow in the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association at the AAEA annual meeting in Minneapolis on July 28, 2014.  Reardon follows in the footsteps of MSU faculty members Sandra Batie (1994), Clifton Wharton, Jr. (1988), Jim Shaffer (1984), Jim Bonnen (1978), and Glenn Johnson (1970).

At the AFRE Annual Faculty Meeting on May 9, 2014, the following awards were made:

• Excellence in Teaching Award (2014): J. Roy Black
• Excellence in Research Award (2014): Songqing Jin
• Excellence in Outreach Award (2013): Eric Scorsone
• Excellence in Service Award (2013):  Michael T. Weber

Student Awards and Honors

Carson Reeling was elected president of the AFRE Graduate Student Organization for 2013-14.

Marie Steele was elected vice-president of the AFRE Graduate Student Organization for 2013-14.

New students for Fall 2014: During orientation August 25-26, the Department welcomed 79 new students. The 15 new grad students include 6 PhD and 9 MS students who jointly hail from 6 countries. The 64 incoming undergrads included 42 freshmen and 22 transfer students. The group includes 33 majoring in Agribusiness Management, 18 in Food Industry Management, and 13 in Environmental Economics and Policy.  Most come from Michigan, but members of the incoming undergrad group also come from Illinois, California, China, Rwanda and Kenya.