Issue 9
AAEA Update: Planning for the Future
The AAEA Board and Staff are engaged in strategic planning this year to think about our organization’s future and how best to serve our members and society. Our initial review of AAEA activity resulted in forming taskforces to work in six areas of highest importance. The good news is that all of these are areas in which AAEA is already active, indicating that our organization is focused on our central priorities. However, we are also finding as we look forward over the next 10-15 years that there are many opportunities to further build in these areas. Our main goals are to enhance AAEA’s Culture of Engagement and AAEA’s support for the professional development of our members.
Our six taskforces are working on:
- Communicating Out: AAEA’s communication of our agricultural and applied economics work through various media and interactions representing our profession as a scientific organization, for example in Washington, DC (Co-Chairs: Michael Boland and Keith Coble)
- Mentoring Programs: AAEA’s programs for early, mid, and later career professionals (Chair: Julie Caswell)
- Sections & Membership: AAEA’s portfolio of Sections and engaging agricultural and applied economists in AAEA (Chair: Barry Goodwin)
- Annual Meeting: AAEA’s Culture of Engagement through the annual meeting (Chair: Scott Swinton)
- Symposia and Other Stand Alone Events: AAEA’s structure for supporting additional, specialized meeting venues (Chair: Dawn Thilmany McFadden)
- Publications: AAEA’s support for publication outlets (Chair: Jayson Lusk)
The AAEA Board will be reviewing taskforce reports at the Minneapolis meeting and will then be reporting to you. As I noted in a President’s Column last year, our organization is very strong; we can be stronger yet by innovating to assure that our programs, technology, and operational structure meet the future needs of members.
The Minneapolis Meeting: The AAEA Culture of Engagement
Saturday & Sunday, July 26 & 27
The 2014 Annual Meeting kicks off with pre-conferences and mentoring programs on Saturday, July 26th. Then we launch with Networking Sunday on July 27th—the day is filled with opportunities to connect with other AAEA members working in your areas through Section and Committee meetings and receptions, the Early Career Professional networking reception, and first rounds of undergraduate and graduate competitions flowing into the Keynote Address, Poster Reception, and the Welcome Reception.
The Employment Center is Open
The Employment Center registration is open. This is a great opportunity to post and interview for positions. At AAEA you will find candidates with the strongest training and best fit for your agricultural and applied economics jobs. For registration information for employers and candidates, please click here.
The Preliminary Program is Available
The Preliminary Program is now posted on the Events page of the Annual Meeting website. Each concurrent session time slot links to its respective schedule or the full set of Concurrent Session schedules can be found here. Please keep in mind that this is a preliminary schedule and there may be some changes over the next few weeks as the schedule is finalized.
The Mobile App Lets You Start Planning Your Schedule
The 2014 AAEA Annual Meeting mobile app is now available for download. For instructions on how to download the app for your respective platform, please visit the Mobile App page of the Annual Meeting website. The preliminary schedule is currently uploaded to the app and ready for exploration.
In addition to managing your annual meeting schedule, the app allows users to connect with other app users, contribute to the conversation via social media, and browse sessions by participant or topic. Also, to further enhance the usability of the mobile app, there will be free Wi-Fi available in the annual meeting space.
Remember: Opportunity to Travel Light at the Meeting
At registration you’ll be asked whether you would like a paper program. If the mobile app meets all your needs, please take this opportunity to travel light.
Register for the Annual Meeting here!
Julie Caswell
AAEA President
AAEA News
- Early Registration and Presenter Requirement Deadline for Annual Meeting
- Choices Distribution
- Registration Deadline Extended for Social Networks, Social Media and the Economics of Food Symposium
- Mobile App is Back
Section Updates
- Senior Section Sponsors Session on the Evolution of Health Insurance Issues
- Graduate Student Extension Competition
- Case Study Competition
Note: The Exchange is now distributed bi-weekly. The People Section will continue to be bi-monthly and is scheduled to next appear in July. Click here to view the most recent People Section from Issue 8.