Position Overview

Job Summary

Purdue's Department of Agricultural Economics seeks a dynamic leader with vision and a talent for innovation. The department head will lead a diverse group of talented faculty and staff in fulfilling the research, teaching and extension/engagement missions of a preeminent agricultural economics department in a major land grant university. The head will build internal and external support for achieving objectives, muster financial resources, develop human resources, and make key resource allocation decisions. The head exercises leadership in administrative, fiscal, and human resource matters. The head is also expected to uphold the department’s long-standing commitment to international programs, perform a liaison role within the university and with government agencies and industry groups, lead fundraising efforts, help strengthen interdisciplinary activities, and represent the department to professional organizations, the university community, and society at large.

The department

The department consists of 38 faculty members, 37 professional staff, and 4 clerical/support staff. The department has 95 graduate students, 49 MS-MBA students, 8 Professional Masters students and 475 undergraduates. The current annual budget is over $16 million, of which roughly 40 percent is generated from external funds. The department is dedicated to diverse teaching, research and extension/engagement functions in agricultural economics. This diversity is evidenced by the Center for Food and Agricultural Business (CAB), the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development (NCRCRD), the Center for Food Demand Analysis & Sustainability (CFDAS), and the Center for Commercial Agriculture (CCA), all housed in the department. Research and extension programs maintain strengths in core areas but also extend frequently into areas not traditionally associated with agricultural economics, such as the department's new research initiative on the economics of family firms. Innovative teaching programs include the Purdue-Kelley MS-MBA in Food and Agribusiness Management, a dual-degree program with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, and courses in global trade analysis, delivered using a combination of distance learning technology and traditional teaching formats. The dissemination of information and assistance to the public are provided via several models ranging from traditional extension programs such as the Top Farmer Crop Workshop and Outlook, to CAB and GTAP programs, to new models based on distance learning. The department has critical linkages, joint faculty appointments and collaboration throughout the university, including with various departments in the Colleges of Agriculture, Health and Human Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, and the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business. Department faculty regularly collaborate with colleagues in the Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Institute, the Purdue Institute for a Sustainable Future and the Purdue Center for Global Food Security. The department is currently ranked fourth in the world by the Center for World University Rankings 2022.

the college

The Department is an integral part of the College of Agriculture, one of the world’s leading colleges of agricultural, food, life, and natural resource sciences. Purdue Agriculture is ranked third in the U.S. and fifth in the world according to the 2023 QS World University Rankings. The College is deeply committed to the three land-grant missions (teaching, research, and extension), to international activities and perspectives that span all missions, and to excellence in all we do. The College of Agriculture and the Department of Agricultural Economics are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Our leadership, faculty, staff, and students are engaged in many efforts that are consistent with this commitment. The College has 11 academic departments and includes 309 faculty, 2889 undergraduate students, and 700 graduate students. Learn more about the College’s current Strategic Plan.

Qualifications

Candidates must have a passion for, and understanding of, or a strong willingness to embrace, the land-grant mission in its fullest sense. Candidates must have an earned doctorate and professional experience in agricultural economics, economics or a closely related area. The new Head must have a record of leadership, communication, and administrative abilities, and be committed to fostering diversity and creating a climate of inclusion. The successful candidate must have demonstrated a record of scholarly achievement commensurate with the rank of full professor.

Application procedure