Vic Adamowicz

Wiktor (Vic) Adamowicz is a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology, Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences, and Special Advisor, Faculty Relations, Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), University of Alberta. He is an environmental and resource economist who has spent most of his career developing and employing methods to estimate the monetary value of environmental quality changes and incorporate these measures into economic analysis and policy. He is most well known for his contributions to the development of stated preference methods although he has made contributions to various topics in environmental and health valuation. Adamowicz has applied these methods in the analysis of several significant environmental and natural resource topics including the valuation of outdoor recreation, threatened and endangered species conservation, assessment of the benefits of air and water quality improvements, and efforts to assess the economic value of ecosystem services. He has also been involved in several multidisciplinary research initiatives, bringing his economics expertise to teams of social scientists, engineers, and natural scientists.

Adamowicz received his BSc. (Agriculture) and MSc. (Agricultural Economics) from the University of Alberta, Canada and his PhD from the University of Minnesota. He began his appointment at the University of Alberta in 1983. He held visiting appointments at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), Resources for the Future, Arizona State University, the University of Gothenburg, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Western Australia. He was the Scientific Director of the Sustainable Forest Management Network – a national interdisciplinary forest management research network, and the Scientific Director of the Alberta Land Institute. He has leadership experience as an academic administrator – including as Vice Dean for 10 years at the University of Alberta.

Adamowicz has authored or co-authored over 200 articles in refereed journals as well as numerous book chapters and reports. He has published in agricultural economics (American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics), environmental and resource economics (Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Land Economics) as well as interdisciplinary journals (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Water) and economics field journals.  He has had the privilege of supervising or co-supervising over 90 graduate students.

Adamowicz has served on several public advisory panels including as a member of the Science Advisory Panel to the Chief Scientist, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, the Council of the Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Canada’s Carbon Sink Potential, the Alberta Climate Technology Task Force, and the Ecosystem Sciences and Management Working Group (ESMWG) of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).   

He has served the profession with appointments as the President of the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, President of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists and the President of the Society for Benefit Cost Analysis. He has also been involved in capacity building in environmental and development economics as a resource person for the Environment and Economy Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) and member of the research committee for the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD).

Adamowicz has been recognized for his contributions and achievements through numerous awards including the AAEA publication of enduring quality award and outstanding AJAE article award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists and the Canadian Environmental and Resource Economics Association, and in 2025 he became a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.