President's Column
June 2020
Last week the AAEA Board formally canceled the in-person meeting in Kansas City. The Board has been deliberate in the process as we dealt with the financial ramifications of the decision. Thank you for your patience as we worked through this decision. We will have a virtual meeting and are working on those plans now. Details will be coming soon and again thank you to the many who have worked to provide continuity.
On June 29, a joint Council for Agricultural Science and Technology-AAEA report based on papers from our profession will be released. The report entitled “Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Food and Agricultural Markets” will reflect the thoughts of many in our profession on this important topic. More details soon.
I also want to mention that a few days ago the AAEA Board put out a statement regarding recent events in our society. I hope you read that statement against discrimination; I want to reiterate the final six items in that statement. The AAEA Board commits to taking concrete action by:
- Supporting efforts to increase the pipeline of African Americans, women, and other under-represented minority groups into the profession, including in leadership positions.
- Increasing plenary lectures, scholarly awards, Fellow, and other prominent recognitions of top economists who are African American, women, and members of other underrepresented minority groups.
- We will pursue having a call in our journals to address issues of race and equity around agriculture, food, and the environment.
- Continue our climate survey of the profession.
- Recognize organizations, departments, and individuals who promote diversity, equity, and inclusion among their students and employees.
- Increase mentorship and outreach efforts.
These items represent our intention to be proactive in coming years. I am pleased that plans for item three are already underway. Expect to hear more with the release of our new strategic plan after our summer board meeting.
I do have some late-breaking news that was just shared with the AAEA Board. We have had tremendous growth in membership since last year! We have almost 700 new members relative to the same time last year. Gains were seen in almost every category of membership, but particular growth occurred among students, early-career, and members from low income/lower middle-income countries. Thank you to all the new members.
This is my last presidential column. Dawn Thilmany McFadden will ably take over as president for the next year. I appreciate so many who have volunteered when asked and have repeatedly demonstrated leadership for the AAEA.
Thank you all. Let’s stay relevant.