The search committee that has been looking for the replacement to Dr. Tom Coon who officially retires next month from his position as Dean and Vice President of the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University has found their man.
It was announced on Friday by OSU President Kayse Shrum and Provost Jeanette Mendez at the OSU/A&M Board of Regents meeting that the Committee has selected Dr. Jayson Lusk to succeed Dr. Coon in early August- subject to final approval from the board this coming week.
According to an email circulated by Mendez- “Dr. Jayson L. Lusk is currently serving as Distinguished Professor and Head, Department of Agricultural Economics, at Purdue University, a position he has held since separating from Oklahoma State University in June 2017. As you may remember, Dr. Lusk arrived at Oklahoma State in March 2005 as a tenured Professor and holder of the Willard R. Sparks Endowed Chair. Over the next twelve years, Lusk served as a distinguished member of the Agricultural Economics faculty, earning the honorary title of Regents Professor in 2013. Dr. Lusk has spent a significant portion of his professional career at land-grant institutions, is recognized as a preeminent scientist and advocate for agricultural research and innovation and has received national recognition for his research, including the Lou Ann Aday award, Purdue University’s most prestigious research award in the humanities and social sciences. The Lusk family is very excited about rejoining the OSU and Stillwater communities, and Dr. Lusk is expected to transition to OSU on or about August 7, 2023. “
During his time at Oklahoma State University- Dr. Lusk led a project that surveyed consumers about their attitudes on meat purchases at both the retail and restaurant levels. The Food Demand Survey conducted by Dr. Lusk featured the opinions of a thousand plus consumers monthly.
In 2016- Lusk and the Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays sat down in his office in Ag Hall on campus in Stillwater- and they discussed some of the many topics that Lusk has tackled on his blog (still being updated these many years later from his vantage spot at Purdue) and in a multitude of national media appearances during his time on the OSU Ag Economics faculty team. Lusk has been interviewed and has written opinion pieces for organizations like NPR, Fox Business News, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Time. Dr. Lusk said in that conversation that the issues he talks and writes the most about it seems are Animal Ag issues and GMOs.
You can hear that 2016 conversation that described his work at OSU as he neared the end of his tenure in Stillwater before taking on the role of the Department Chair of Ag Economics at Purdue. Click on the link below:
Here is the Bio that Provost Mendez provided those receiving her email announcing Dr. Lusk as the Dean and Vice President in waiting:
Jayson Lusk is Distinguished Professor and Head of the Agricultural Economics Department at
Purdue University. He earned a BS in Food Technology from Texas Tech and a PhD in Agricultural
Economics from Kansas State. He held previous appointments at Mississippi State and Oklahoma
State Universities and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research.
Lusk is a preeminent agricultural scientist and a prominent advocate for agricultural research and
innovation. He has been interviewed and published editorials in outlets such as the New York Times,
Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Washington Post, and has appeared on numerous network
and national cable television shows. Lusk has published more than 270 articles in peer reviewed
journals, including several of the most cited papers in the agricultural economics profession. He has
authored five books, the latest being Unnaturally Delicious.
Additionally, Lusk has received numerous awards including the Borlaug Communication Award from
the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the Lou Ann Aday award, Purdue
University’s most prestigious research award in the humanities and social sciences. He has served on
the executive committee of the USDA National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and
Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board and has testified before the U.S. Congress on multiple
occasions. He is a fellow and past president of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
