Mission

Vision

Core Values

Excellence - We seek excellence in all our endeavors, and we are committed to continuous improvement.

Intellectual Freedom – We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge.

Integrity – We are committed to the principle of truth and honesty, and we will be equitable, ethical, and professional.

Service – We believe that serving others is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Diversity – We respect others and value diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Stewardship of Resources – We are dedicated to the efficient and effective use of resources. We accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and are accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal 1. Academic Excellence - Maintain high standards of excellence in instruction, research, and extension/outreach.

Critical Success Factors:

• 95 % of all undergraduate and graduate courses instructed by faculty with doctoral degrees*
• 90% of classes with enrollments in excess of 50 students have Teaching Assistant support
• Reduce the student teacher ratio to less than 50:1 per teaching Full Time Equivalent (FTE)
• Teach less than 1,000 student credit hours per teaching FTE
• An average enrollment of 375 undergraduates at the start of Fall semesters
• Rank in the top 5 agricultural economics/agribusiness undergraduate programs in the nation by number of students and quality of program
• Average enrollment of 25 Ph.D. students at the start of fall semesters
• Average enrollment of 30 M.S. students, half on the thesis option and half on the non-thesis option, at the start of fall semesters
• Average enrollment of 15 Masters of Agriculture students at the start of fall semesters
• Rank in the top 15 agricultural economics/agribusiness graduate programs in the nation by number of students and quality of program
• Average 25 B.S. graduates completing minors in Agricultural Economics each year
• Cooperate with the existing undergraduate and graduate Environmental Science programs, providing 2 faculty advisors for the undergraduate program, and 2 faculty for service and administrative committees
• Obtain an Endowed Chair with an emphasis in Agribusiness Finance Teaching

• Publish an average of at least 1.5 refereed journal articles per research FTE per year
• Publish 5 articles per year in American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal or Agricultural and Resource Economics, Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Review of Agricultural Economics, or Agriculture Resource and Economic Review (or other journals included in the Social Science Citation Index or Science Citation Index)
• Average at least 1.5 refereed professional presentation/papers per research FTE per year
• Average at least 1 regional or national invited presentation per year per research FTE
• Supervise at least 2.0 students engaged in research projects per research FTE per year

• Average at least 12 professional extension papers (e.g. fact sheets, Agricultural Economics papers) or communications in print, electronic, congressional testimony, magazine, or other formats per extension FTE per year
• Provide at least 1 in-service training conference per year
• Have 20% of county extension offices hosting or delivering an economics program each year
• Respond on average to 100 public queries (phone calls, letters, e—mails) per year per extension FTE
• Provide economic education and programming with an average of at least 10 extension programs and 250 clients per extension FTE per year

• Maintain at least 12 tenure track research and extension FTEs in the area of farm and agribusiness programs
• Maintain at least 4 tenure track research and extension FTEs and at least 6 soft-funded professional support staff positions in the area of rural development programs
• Maintain at least 3.4 tenure track research and extension FTEs in the area of public policy programs
• Obtain at least $20,000 of extramural funds per year for each research and extension FTE
• Fill 2 endowed chairs by the end of 2007
• Maintain current annual Hatch funding that provides approximately $9,000 of operating funds per research and extension FTE, approximately $21,000 of staff support salaries per research and extension FTE, and graduate research assistantships of approximately $16,000 per research FTE
• Average at least 2 faculty members serving in leadership roles in national or regional professional organizations (e.g., officer, board member, editor, section leader)
• Average receiving at least 1 national or regional award/recognition every other year for programs of excellence in research, teaching, or extension
• Average 75 % of graduate students who write a thesis or dissertation complete at least 1 professional publication or journal article within 1 year of graduation
• Actively contribute to at least 1 interdisciplinary project per research and extension FTE
• Actively contribute to at least 0.5 multi-institutional projects per research and extension FTE

Objectives:

• Recruit students with the ability to complete the program
• Provide an advisor support system to each student
• Provide students with a variety of learning opportunities and styles
• Increase the number of students in internships
• Develop an external agribusiness advising committee to provide input in curriculum revision and to provide insight into internship opportunities
• Maintain an active scholarship program to provide financial support to outstanding and diverse students
• Develop a program to identify and mentor students toward graduate programs
• Maintain an active link with Department of Agricultural Economics Alumni to provide networking with potential students

• Develop and teach an agribusiness finance course at the Masters level
• Obtain funding for an additional position to support the Masters of Agriculture with an Agribusiness option*
• Recruit a diverse set of students
• Work with College of Business to maintain opportunity for students to take courses such as MGMT 5113 and ACCT 5103

• Offer competitive assistantships to attract a diverse and qualified group of students.

• Offer competitive Ph.D. assistantships
• Offer Ph.D. courses needed to train students
• Cooperate with the Economics Department to maintain a Macroeconomics II course
• Enhance Ph.D. assistantship rates through grant funding

• Provide a diverse set of learning activities
• Support club activities
• Provide a helpful staff

• Provide courses that support non-majors needing agribusiness training
• Make sure students and advisors outside the Department of Agricultural Economics are aware of the requirements of the agricultural economics minor

• Conduct applied research in support of extension programs
• Partner with other departments at OSU, selected state agencies, and selected departments and professionals at other educational institutions in developing and conducting research and extension programs
• Seek extramural funding for research and extension programs in the focus areas
• Add 1 or more Research/Extension FTEs to increase ability to participate in interdisciplinary projects and provide the potential to develop and deliver new programs
• Increase the number of area specialists to support statewide coverage and assistance in delivery of agricultural economics education
• Design training curricula for county extension educators and others that will leverage the department’s efforts to assist clientele the 3 departmental program focus areas
• Demonstrate to counties the full range of assistance available from Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service (Cooperative Extension) to support programs and projects in the department’s 3 focus areas
• Respond to information requests from clientele groups including producer and producer organizations, agribusinesses and state and federal legislators
• Document the impacts of our programs and use this documentation to work with Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (Division) and Cooperative Extension administrators to share our successes with elected officials and stakeholders to enhance public support for our programs
• Disseminate research results via professional outlets (journals and presentations at professional meetings) and web-based outlets (web pages, web-only publications, electronic-newsletters)

• Conduct multidisciplinary research and direct graduate student research to determine the economic consequences of alternative agricultural production practices
• Collect and disseminate agricultural decision-making information not readily available from other sources including rental rates, custom rates, land values, enterprise cost of production and tax information
• Subscribe to, utilize, and distribute the livestock marketing data provide by the Livestock Marketing Information Center
• Develop and maintain software to support decision-making on farms and ranches
• Offer 1-on-1 assistance to producers in financial planning through IFMAPS (Intensive Farm Management Analysis and Planning System)*
• Conduct summer and fall Farm and Business Tax Clinics for licensed tax preparers and owners of agricultural and other small firms
• Conduct research and direct graduate student research regarding commodity marketing
• Conduct research to identify and determine the feasibility of new agribusiness opportunities for Oklahoma and the region
• Assist producer groups and agribusiness firms in evaluating, developing, and managing value-added ventures
• Direct graduate student research in areas such as economic impacts and alternatives of commodity research and promotion programs, economic implications of agribusiness concentration and supply chain management, and economic assessment of proposed or passed legislation (e.g., country of origin labeling, mandatory price reporting, ban on packer ownership of livestock, etc.)

• Work with Oklahoma communities to conduct and implement strategic planning (including the provision of budget studies and county finance databases) for health services, emergency medical services, fire, solid waste, community economic development and community government operations
• Provide targeted educational workshops/short-courses directly applicable to the duties and responsibilities of county government officials and employees through partnerships with all relevant county officer associations for County commissioners, County Treasurers, and County Officers and Deputies.
• Provide targeted educational workshops applicable to community and business development (customer service, business management, economic/demographic trends, etc) to Oklahoma community or business leaders
• Maintain and strengthen partnerships with relevant state agencies and organizations, particularly the State Auditor and Inspector, Tax Commission, and Center for Local Government Technology
• Foster more interaction with local government education and training programs in other states so that materials, methods, and ideas are beneficially exchanged
• Continue to provide a long-term and in-depth commitment to approximately 15 or more selected communities/counties to aid in the planning and implementation of leadership development efforts and programs via continuation of the current “Initiative for the Future of Rural Oklahoma” project
• Assist in the establishment of a Center for the Future of Rural Oklahoma to assist and empower rural residents and leaders in local development

• Meet with Congressional representatives or their aides to assist with needs on legislation
• Research the resource and policy aspects of breaking issues such as labeling, biotech content and/or issues of antibiotics, disease prevention, and welfare implications of regulation
• Conduct workshops on public policy issues and the legislative/policy formation process
• Conduct research on strategies (management practices) for complying with environmental, resource and agricultural policy regulations and disseminate the results to clientele via the Cooperative Extension system

• Change the Division policy to increase the incentives to obtain outside funding by letting faculty receive their 12th month of salary from a grant and not lose vacation*
• Continue to pay page charges from departmental funds to avoid any disincentive for publishing
• Provide an orientation series for new graduate students that prepares them to be productive researchers
• Create informal research teams that read each other’s papers and help each other succeed in getting published
• Monitor our progress in meeting our goals expressed in the critical success factors
• Celebrate our successes in meeting these goals
• Base faculty evaluations, promotion and tenure decisions, pay raises, and allocation of maintenance dollars upon individual success in contributing to meeting the critical success factors
• Fund transportation for graduate students to attend professional meetings when they are presenting a paper
• Increase the base Ph.D. assistantship rate to $20,000 to attract top students

Goal 2. Student Development – Recruit, retain, and graduate students in a collegial environment that encourages excellence, prepares them for careers, enriches their personal growth, fosters their discovery of knowledge, and promotes leadership.

Critical Success Factors:

• Have an average of 70% of graduating seniors complete a work experience during their undergraduate program
• Have an average of 25% of graduating seniors each year complete an international experience during their undergraduate program
• Have an average of 90% of graduating seniors placed in relevant employment (including at least 25% of undergraduates moving into a graduate or professional programs) within 6 months of their graduation date
• Have an average of 65% of graduating seniors complete their B.S. degree within 4.5 years of enrollment
• Have an average retention rate for freshmen starting in the Department of Agricultural Economics of 85% within OSU
• Have an average of 85% of graduating M.S. and Masters of Agriculture students complete their degrees within 2 years of enrollment
• Have an average of 85% of graduating Ph.D. students complete their degree within 4 years of enrollment
• Average 85% of former students who respond on the Alumni Assessment survey respond that they are satisfied with the education they received from the department
• Maintain competitiveness in National Agricultural Marketing Association (NAMA) contest and Agricultural Economics Quiz bowl competitions and strive to finish in the top 3 one or more times every 5 years
• Have an international study tour course taught within the department
• Average 1 undergraduate applying and being competitive for National/International scholarship opportunities (including the Truman, Marshall, Gates, Rotary Ambassador, Phi Kappa Phi and Rhodes scholarships) each year
• Average 1 B.S. graduate named as a Top Graduate of the university each year
• Average 3 B.S. graduates named as a Top 10 Graduate of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources each year
• Average 1 or more Wentz Scholars per year
• Average less than 1000 student credit hours per teaching FTE per year
• Have an average course section size for 4000 (excluding AGEC 4101 and 4990) level courses of less than 35 students*
• Average placing one Ph.D. graduate each year in a tenure track position at peer institutions
• Average $250,000 annually available for scholarships and assistantships for students

Objectives:

• Have all students advised by faculty advisors who are familiar with scholar opportunities
• Have advisors specifically identify 5 top freshmen each year and 5 additional sophomores each year as students with national scholar potential and make the students aware of the activity and achievement levels that have made past scholars successful
• Work with the OSU Office of Scholar Development and Recognition to make sure top students are acquainted with its programs

• Maintain an active scholarship committee
• Hold an undergraduate awards and scholarship banquet each year and generate press coverage for all scholarships awarded
• Contact all alumni annually by mail to solicit funds for established endowed scholarship funds in the name of selected retired or active professors

• Assign 2 faculty advisors to assist each undergraduate club
• Allocate office space to undergraduate club officers
• Have the chair of the graduate committee serve as a faculty advisor to the graduate student organization
• Identify sources of funding to assist both the undergraduate and graduate clubs in attending national meetings, competitions and conducting club activities such as educational trips

• Assign each student a faculty advisor*
• Faculty and staff will be accessible to students
• Provide orientation session to new graduate students and consider their preferences following this session in assigning major professors
• Hold at least 1 event per semester that involves joint faculty/staff and graduate student participation (departmental picnic and international dinner)
• Hold at least 1 event per semester that involves joint faculty/staff and undergraduate student participation (Aggie-X picnic, Aggie-X/Ag. Economics Awards banquet, etc.)
• Provide office space, a computer lab and reference room for graduate student use
• Maintain staff sensitivity to student needs and orient new staff to the same sensitivity level

Goal 3. Economic Development – Enhance the quality of life by contributing to the human, economic, and cultural development of Oklahomans.

Critical Success Factors:

• Provide educational workshops, training and technical assistance to communities, organizations, boards, and development groups assisting 60 such entities per Rural Development tenure track FTE annually
• Have faculty who work in the area of economic development annually involved in regional or national rural development projects at the rate of 2 projects per Rural Development tenure track FTE
• Provide educational workshops, training and technical assistance to communities, organizations, boards, and development groups assisting an average of 60 such entities per rural development extension tenure track FTE each year
• Reach at least 600 county government employees per year, representing at least 6,000 hours of delivered instruction
• For each Rural Development extension tenure track FTE, publish at least 30 OSU-Agricultural Economics papers and 2 fact sheets per year
• Conduct analysis on 10 current and proposed federal and state public policies such as natural resources, environmental, commodity, trade, and macroeconomic policy, per FTE working in the public policy area per year
• Develop and deliver 2 natural resource or policy related extension programs per year
• Create 12 professional extension papers/reports/communications in the print, electronic, congressional testimony, magazine or other formats addressing public policy issues per extension FTE working in the area of public policy per year
• Respond to 50 public queries per year per extension FTE working in the area of public policy

Objectives:

• Provide educational and technical assistance to rural leaders to assist them with the efficient delivery of community services and facilities, economic diversification, and local leadership
• Enhance local government official professionalism and service efficiency by providing targeted educational workshops/short courses directly applicable to the duties and responsibilities of county government officials and employees
• Assist in the establishment of a center for the Future of Rural Oklahoma to assist and empower rural residents and leaders in local development efforts

• Increase production efficiency of major and alternative agricultural enterprises
• Enhance the marketing, pricing and risk management of major Oklahoma agricultural commodities
• Improve agribusiness and cooperative management and assess and develop value-added product opportunities
• Improve farm and ranch management for a range of management dimensions, including production, finance, tax, risk, and legal
• Determine the implications of changing market structure and assess market policy alternatives

• Evaluate the federal and state public policies related to the environment, natural resources, food and farm policy and rural life
• Assist Congress, the State Legislature, farm organizations, community groups, environmental interest organizations and individuals in policy development
• Evaluate the ability of agribusinesses (including farms and ranches) to efficiently adjust to changing public policies related to environment, natural resources, food and rural life
• Build public and private sector awareness, understanding and involvement in public policy issues, policy development, and policy implementation procedures

Goal 4. Diversity -- We will promote and respect diversity of opinion and experiences, freedom of expression and equal opportunity for all students, faculty, staff and public.

Critical Success Factors:

• Be a leading department in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (College) in achieving diversity by having an undergraduate population in the department that has percentage of individuals in underrepresented minorities and percentage of females enrolled in the department undergraduate program that exceed the average percentages for these respective groups in the College.
• Have at least 10% of our scholarships awarded to under represented minority students.
• Have at least 25% of our graduating seniors participate in an international study experience during their undergraduate degree program
• Have an average of at least 2 faculty members active in an international research or teaching activity each year.
• Pair at least 1 upper-division student to mentor each under represented minority student at high risk of not completing their degree.
• Conduct 2 or more events per year designed to “mix” students, faculty and/or staff from different cultural, ethnic and/or occupational backgrounds.
• Have all faculty become aware of the diversity of the department’s student body and aim to reflect the state’s diversity.
• Have a graduate student mix that includes students from at least 20 different countries
• Have at least 2 faculty active in extra-departmental academic programs such as the School of International Studies program, and the Environmental Science undergraduate and graduate programs, which offer further opportunities for enhancement of diversity in classes and research programs.

Objectives:

• Use current and alumni undergraduate and graduate students of diversity as contacts and recruiters for attracting a diverse set of students
• Include diversity status as a factor in all unrestricted freshmen and transfer student scholarships given by the department
• Develop a student-mentoring program for minority students considered at high risk for not completing their degrees
• Publicize the job opportunities for our graduates and emphasize to under represented minorities and females that these jobs are relatively more gender and race inclusive than many other career paths in agriculture, and that the degree provides essential skills that also apply to non-agricultural fields
• For a 2005 benchmark, assess the number of targeted under represented minorities and female students in the department anddivision
• Monitor the level of diversity of our student body annually, and make faculty aware of whether it is consistent with our goals
• Where appropriate, redefine existing courses or develop new courses to reflect a broader focus than farm or agriculture
• Participate in and support career and college recruiting activities that encourage inclusiveness and equity of access
• Assure that educational and promotional materials produced or used by the department are written in and reflect gender neutral and racially inclusive language. When images are used in materials, make sure that people of both genders and various races and nationalities are involved
• Solicit scholarships for diverse students, targeting African-Americans, American Indians, Latinos, and females and other under represented groups in Oklahoma
• Sponsor economists from under represented groups to speak at various classes, seminars and other academic events to serve as role models. Where appropriate, invite such professionals to speak at multicultural events
• Expand recruitment of foreign undergraduates by providing funding and/or developing relationships with international universities
• Achieve equity of access and equity of participation

• Continue to offer 1 international study tour course each year
• Support faculty in seeking international experience opportunities
• Host an annual departmental “International Student/Faculty Pot-Luck Dinner” where students, faculty and staff bring traditional foods from their ethnic/geographical background
• Sponsor an annual industry tour of Oklahoma agricultural firms (input supply, food processing, farms and ranches) for international graduates and out-of-state students in specific, but in general for all interested students
• Develop social mixers for students that encourage more awareness and understanding of diversity
• Add a statement to the department website that says, “We are an equal employment opportunity employer and educator”
• Add to department website, as appropriate, announcements about multicultural events and activities
• Follow university policy with respect to grievances or issues concerning discrimination and harassment

• Continue to seek opportunities to work with Langston University, Oklahoma Indian tribal governments, and other groups representing minorities and the socially disadvantaged on selected programs to assist farmers, and agribusinesses and communities
• Conduct research and extension programs that serve low-income farmers and small rural communities and inner city and ethnic neighborhoods.
• Sponsor student scholarships to attend Women in Agriculture conferences.

• Continue to seek opportunities to recruit and fill vacant faculty and staff positions that reflect the diversity of the state.
• Publicize position openings in a manner that encourages a diversity of applicants.
• Assure that hiring decision makers and search committees have been trained in equal employment opportunity standards and sensitivity.
• Maintain equality of access and equity of participation in the application, hiring and employee retention processes.

Goal 5. Human Resources Development – Recruit, retain, and develop an outstanding faculty and staff within a collegial, healthy atmosphere that recognizes diverse contributions.

Critical Success Factors:

• 80% of the faculty attend at least 1 professional meeting per year that has a development activity*
• 80% of the teaching faculty attend at least 1 teaching development workshop a year
• 80% of the staff participate in a least 1 development activity each year or be able to cite at least 1 skill developed via self improvement during the year
• Conduct a seminar series for faculty and graduate students consisting of at least 6 seminars per year with at least 3 presented by outside speakers
• Host a visiting international scholar, Big XII exchange faculty, faculty on sabbatical or similar visiting scholar activity at least once every 3 years
• Have at least 3 faculty take sabbatical leave for professional development over the next 5 years
• Nominate and promote at least 1 student employee and 1 staff member for a Division or University level recognition each year
• Retain over 90% of all staff each year who do not retire
• Retain over 98% of all faculty each year who do not retire
• Raise faculty and staff salaries to above-average levels among Big XII institutions
• Have an average of .5 hard funded Administrative and Professional (A&P) level support FTEs per faculty member and .5 soft funded A&P level support FTEs per faculty member
• Have experiment station funding for 1 or more graduate research assistants per research FTE
• Create a work environment for faculty, staff, and graduate students conducive to a healthy life style

Objectives:

• Assign 2 mentors to each new faculty member. One mentor will be a member of the Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure committee with a similar research interest and will assist them in preparing materials for their annual appraisals during the first few years of their appointment. A second mentor will be assigned based on their teaching or extension experience in areas of instruction similar to the new faculty member and will assist them in developing an effective teaching or extension program
• When possible assign new faculty a lighter teaching and advising load for the first 2 semesters of work
• Have new faculty members participate in the writing of at least 1 joint grant with other faculty within their first year of work

• Allow the use of compensatory time for staff to take up to 6 hours of university course work per semester
• Write development plans for new staff that define skills to be learned and potential salary adjustments for such development
• Keep staff informed of university-provided training opportunities
• Reserve an average of $100 (as budgets permit) per staff member for training fee support and consider special requests for training fee support
• Use departmental Information Technology personnel to conduct staff training on new software and to design individualized software skill development programs for staff upon request by their supervisor

• Maintain a department with an international reputation by being active in professional associations and meetings and placing our graduates in leading institutions
• Advertise positions nationally
• Have search and screening committees for each vacant position that use contacts and alumni at leading institutions to develop a list of desired candidates from which to solicit applications
• Have competitive salary offers and start-up packages

• Make individual success in contributing to the critical success factors of the department a key part of faculty evaluations, promotion and tenure decisions, pay raises, and allocation of maintenance dollars
• Provide adequate office space for staff and faculty and their student assistants/workers
• Invest an average of $5,000 annually in office and classroom improvements
• Invest an average of $20,000 annually in information technology (primarily computers)
• Provide a minimum of $3,000 per teaching/research FTE and $4,000 per extension FTE annually for maintenance support of teaching, research, and extension programs
• Coordinate and facilitate the adjustment of workloads that will permit at least 3 faculty members over the next 5 years to take a sabbatical leave for professional development

Goal 6. Leverage Resources – Leverage financial, people, and physical

Critical Success Factors:

• Obtain an average of $20,000 of extramural grant funds per year per FTE
• Complete fund drives and recruiting for 2 endowed chairs or professorships over the next 5 years and explore the development of additional endowed chairs/professorships
• Provide in excess of $75,000 in undergraduate and graduate student scholarships each year for the next 5 years
• Raise an additional $40,000 of endowed funds for funding scholarships, student activities and departmental activities over the next 5 years
• Fund in excess of $180,000 of graduate student assistantships each year for the next 5 years
• Have 25 % or more of all research projects be multidisciplinary or multi-institutional

Objectives:

• When appropriate, have faculty be actively involved in grant project or writing grant proposal
• Assure that faculty are aware of grant opportunities via the following actions
  1. Have current grant holders hold seminars to discuss their grant work and sources of funding
  2. Distribute abstracts of funded grant proposals to all faculty via e-mail
  3. Assure that faculty receive and share all communications issued by major granting institutions, the university, and thedivision grants and contracts office
• Return as much indirect cost and salary saving as possible to grant principal investigators as an incentive to seek grants
• Maintain strong contacts with state agencies, commodity producer groups, and legislators
• Explore ways to enhance compensation of faculty who obtain grants

• Define the faculty position needs of the department and assess which needs have the greatest potential for endowment funding
• Work with the Division Foundation Representative to develop sources of endowed chair funding and in the development of campaigns to obtain such funds
• Use state matching funds for endowed chairs/professorships as much as possible

• Have an active scholarship committee and department head that cultivate continued or increased donations from current scholarship sponsors and continue to seek new donors
• Hold an undergraduate awards banquet each year and generate press coverage for all scholarships awarded
• Contact all alumni annually by mail to solicit funds for established endowed scholarship funds in the name of selected retired or active professors
• Work with the Division Foundation Representative to develop new scholarship funding sources

Goal 7. Image/Pride/Recognition – Communicate an image that reflects achievement and pride.

Critical Success Factors:

• Average at least 2 faculty members serving in leadership roles in national or regional professional organizations (e.g., officer, board member, editor, section leader)
• Average receiving at least 1 national or regional award/recognition every other year for programs of excellence in research, teaching, or extension
• Competitiveness in the National Agricultural Marketing Association contest and Agricultural Economics Quiz bowl will be maintained by at least 1 student team finishing in the top 3 at least 1 out of every 5 years
• At least 2 graduate students will present papers at the annual meetings of our 3 leading professional associations
• Average 1 undergraduate applying and being competitive for National/International scholarship opportunities (including the Truman, Marshall, Gates, Rotary Ambassador, Phi Kappa Phi and Rhodes scholarships) each year
• Average 1 B.S. graduate named as a Top 10 Graduate of the university each year
• Average 3 B.S. graduates named as a Top 10 Graduate of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources each year
• Each year have over 30 % of faculty active in some type of Division or University level faculty governance or committee service work
• Have at least 1 public media (newspaper, magazine, radio, T.V.) article or feature per faculty member per year in state, local or national media with half or more of the articles/features being in state or national level media

Objectives:

• All progress in meeting the goals expressed in the critical success factors will be monitored
• Create informal teams to critique and review all articles/papers
• Have a faculty awards committee that identifies, recruits and assists our best faculty in assembling and submitting nomination packages for each faculty award given by our 3 leading professional associations
• Allocate teaching FTEs to faculty “coaches” for the National Agricultural Marketing Association contest and Agricultural Economics Quiz Bowl teams
• Publish a record of our Department, Division and University level achievements in our profession’s leading newsletter (American Agricultural Economics Association newsletter)
• Send electronic-mail reminders to faculty about approaching deadlines for submitting papers to professional meetings
• Pay page charges for all accepted Journal articles centrally to promote Journal submissions
• Annually recruit 15 graduate students who have a 3.6 Grade Point Average or higher
• Fund transportation for graduate students to attend a meeting when they are presenting a paper
• Provide a research methodology class and require term papers in other classes so that students are prepared to write a publishable paper
• Provide an orientation series for all new graduate students

• Maintain a high quality departmental website that has at least the following items:
  1. A search engine
  2. General information about the Department’s teaching, research and Cooperative Extension programs
  3. Information and procedures for enrolling in the graduate and undergraduate program
  4. Notes and/or materials for each class taught (some faculty do not want notes available for general consumption)
  5. All faculty publications
  6. Resumes for all faculty
  7. Extension program information websites
• Generate press release materials for all scholarships awarded and awards received by faculty, staff and students
• Continue to conduct departmentally sponsored contests at the annual FFA Career Contest that is annually hosted by the College

• Inform all student advisors of the attributes required for undergraduates to be designated a national scholar and conduct a process during each academic year to identify 5 or more freshmen and sophomores as potential national scholars, and then work with the Division and OSU Office of Scholar Development and Recognition to develop these students into national scholar candidates
• Hold an annual departmental awards and scholarship banquet, generate press release material for every award and scholarship given and distribute the press releases to each student’s hometown newspaper
• Have an active faculty awards committee that identifies, recruits and assists our best faculty candidate in applying for each Division and OSU faculty awards
• University and Division level committee work and faculty governance positions will be monitored and included as part of a faculty member’s annual appraisal

• Each year, obtain an updated list of alumni from the alumni foundation.
• Each year using an updated list of Agricultural Economics alumni from the Alumni Foundation, contact the alumni by letter and provide them a newsletter, the opportunity to support our scholarship fund and an opportunity to update their electronic-mail (email) address
• Develop and maintain an Agricultural Economics alumni email address file, provide the alumni with a method to update their email address and other information via our web site and use the email address to send out regular departmental teaching, research and extension program highlights and departmental newsletters
• Annually, update a “business card” collection of alumni and use the collection to form a directory/publication that is used as a recruiting and as a contact asset
• Maintain an active departmental assessment program and monitor and use university assessment studies to determine strengths and opportunities for improvements of our program in the opinion of our alumni and use this information to plan changes in our programs

• Coordinate with the Agricultural Communications Services unit to develop 100 press releases about faculty and student activities, annually
• Include the documentation of public media exposure for faculty of 1 or more of their students as an annual appraisal item
• Inform faculty (and students) that all media publications should make reference to the fact that they are associated with Oklahoma State University and the Department of Agricultural Economics