September 2015 Issue 18

President's Message

September 2015
I hope that everyone enjoyed the 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting as much as I did! It was well attended and included a fantastic slate of invited and selected presentations.

At the meetings, the AAEA Executive Board met and discussed numerous issues and plans. Over the past two years, the Board has worked on a strategic plan and its implementation. A key part of this plan is an increased focus on communicating-out efforts. Within these efforts, we have differentiated strategies in media and government relations.

In terms of media relations, we recognize that the ability to communicate with the media and the general public has become increasingly valuable in recent years. At the same time, the rules of the game have changed...

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2015 Fellows & Awards

Thank you to the Awards Committee Chair, Tim Dalton of Kansas State University, Co-Chair, Jaclyn Kropp of the University of Florida, and Board Liaison, Hayley Chouinard of Washington State University, and all who graciously volunteered their time and efforts to serve on an AAEA Award Committee!

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AAEA News

Call for Nominations:
AAEA President-Elect and Directors

The AAEA Nominating Committee is soliciting nominations from AAEA membership for AAEA President-Elect and two AAEA Directors, all for three year terms beginning July 2016.

Please submit the names and affiliations of nominees to bmjones@aaea.org. Nominations must be received by Thursday, October 1, 2015.

Member Profile

Jane Kolodinsky
Professor
University of Vermont

What motivated you to pursue Agricultural/Applied Economics as a profession?
While some professionals have a clear vision of their career track at the beginning of their educational pursuits, I actually never thought I would end up where I am today. My B.S. is in nutrition. I thought I was going to be a dietitian. In the 1980’s dieticians did not have the autonomy they have now. So, I pursued an MBA and thought I would work in the food industry. Industry was not my destiny. After researching what type of PhD I would be prepared for, I found Consumer Economics. I studied Consumer Economics and Housing at Cornell with minors in Agricultural Economics and Marketing. Little did I know that almost 30 years later a perfect storm would brew. My transdisciplinary background has come of age. Food Systems is the new Agricultural/Consumer Economics and I am prepared for the future I didn’t know was coming. At a time when many professionals are thinking about sun-setting their careers, I have more motivation (and projects) than ever and remain enthusiastic and energized for the next phase of my career.

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Obituary

Leonidas C. Polopolus
Leonidas C. Polopolus (Leo) passed away Monday, August 17, from injuries suffered in an auto accident on July 31. He was 82 years old.

Leonidas was born in San Bernardino, California in 1933 where his parents, Constantine and Irene Gatsos Polopolus, were fruit and vegetable growers. Leonidas received his B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of California, Davis with highest honors and his PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Polopolus was a professor at the University of Florida (UF) from 1969-1996, and taught at the undergraduate and graduate level on a variety of topics, including marketing, micro economic theory, labor, agribusiness, public policy and the economy of modern Greece. In addition to UF, he also was a professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) (1960-1965), and a visiting professor at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Crete, the Athens Agricultural University, and Santa Clara University.

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