A. Departmental Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics is to seek, verify, apply and disseminate economic knowledge through student education and public outreach that improves the decision-making ability of individuals, firms, institutions and society concerning the use of agricultural and environmental resources.

B: Departmental Value Statements

The faculty and staff of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics share these beliefs:

1. The Vision to Lead

As conditions throughout the state, nation and world change, we believe it is important to be proactive and not just reactive. In the area of proactive leadership, we seek to help shape the future by providing leadership ourselves and developing leaders in the agricultural and environmental community.

2. Communication

Within our department and university, we believe it is necessary for faculty and staff in all positions to listen to and understand each other and communicate in ways that will enhance job performance and satisfaction. We strive to listen to and understand our outside stakeholders represented by the people served by our research, teaching and extension programs. We have a responsibility to communicate useful, academically and technically sound information to these stakeholders.

3. Respect and Cooperation

We recognize and respect the unique abilities and opinions of different individuals and the importance of each individual's contribution to the department's mission regardless of position or background. We strive to develop and maintain a work environment where individual efforts, job performance and opinions are valued and integrated together to enhance the department's mission. We believe that cooperation across all positions within and outside of our department can enhance both individual effort and job performance and the community effort and performance of our department as a whole.

4. Excellence in All We Do

We strive for excellence in our different positions, work assignments and overall job performance. We value creativity, originality and innovation in the pursuit of our department's mission. Our credibility, objectivity and honesty must be beyond reproach.

We are dedicated to the goal of high quality education both inside and outside of the classroom, including the development and dissemination of unbiased, relevant knowledge supported by basic and applied research in various research, teaching and extension forums and outlets.