The Virginia Tech Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics is seeking an accomplished, visionary leader for the position of Department Head. Responsibilities of the Department Head include leadership of all department programs and administrative responsibility for strategic planning, fiscal management, marketing initiatives, and human resources. This includes recruitment, development, and retention of faculty and staff. The Department Head should provide effective advocacy for the department within and outside the university, and actively secure resources to strengthen its mission. The department is seeking an individual who will foster excellence in teaching, research, and extension, and encourage a positive, collegial climate and participatory decision-making process within the department. Ongoing university-wide strategic investments and priority setting in curriculum development and research activities will provide the Department Head with a unique opportunity to shape the academic mission and programs of the department.
The department currently consists of 30 faculty and staff, 58 graduate students, and 230 undergraduate majors. The department offers undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs. The undergraduate program consists of five majors with specializations in agribusiness, including options in agribusiness management and veterinary business management; community economic development; environmental economics, management, and policy; international trade and development; and food and health systems economics. The master program includes both a traditional seated program and a 100% online degree program with a focus on data analytics, which has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report. The Ph.D. program is offered jointly with the Economics Department (in the College of Science) and includes research in applied econometrics, international development and trade, environmental and resource economics, food and health economics, and rural and regional development. The faculty have successfully obtained research grants from USDA, EPA, NIH, NSF, USAID, CGIAR centers, and state and industry sources. Additionally, faculty have been extensively involved in interdisciplinary collaboration within the university, as well as nationally and globally. Three department centers highlight extension and outreach efforts: The Center for Agricultural Trade, The Kohl Centre, and the Center for Economic Education. Find more information about the department on the web at http://www.aaec.vt.edu/. Founded in 1872 as a land grant institution, Virginia Tech is currently ranked as a Top 25 Public University by US News & World Report and a Top 25 Public Research University by the National Science Foundation. The university has a total student enrollment of 30,000 with approximately 4,000 students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences across nine academic departments and schools. Find additional information about Blacksburg at http://www.blacksburg.va.us/.