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Chester O. McCorkle, Jr. Special Purpose Fund

Call for Applications

You can learn more about submitting an application for the McCorkle Scholarship in the call for applications. Applications are due in early October for the following year's scholarships.

Chester O. McCorkle, Jr. Special Purpose Fund supports applied research by a graduate student on economic issues relating to agriculture. 

You can donate to the McCorkle fund using the Trust donation form.

Chester O. McCorkle, Jr.

Dr. McCorkle received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California Berkeley, the latter in 1952. He was on the faculty of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of California Davis from 1952-1990, where he is currently Professor Emeritus. During his tenure at UC Davis he also served in administration. From 1964-69 he was Vice-Chancellor and from 1969-70 Dean of the College of Agriculture. From 1970-78 he served as Vice President of the University of California (systemwide).

In addition to his service to the AAEA, Dr. McCorkle was President of the Western Agricultural Economics Association from 1965-66, a member of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, and Secretary-Treasurer of the California Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers from 1955-56. He was Chairman of the Board on Agriculture and Renewable Resources of the National Academy of Science’s Commission on Natural Resources from 1977-80, serving as Vice-Chair from 1980-81. He authored 3 books and over 100 scientific and technical articles and numerous consulting and popular reports. His research spanned the scope of agricultural and resource economics from the economics of water, agricultural business organization and management, to the economics of food processing. In 1989 he co-founded (with Wells Fargo Bank) the California Agribusiness Executive Seminar targeting top California agribusiness executives. This high level educational program continues to have a strong following today.

McCorkle Scholarship Recipients

The past winners of the McCorkle Scholarship and the areas of research funded by the scholarship are listed below.

  • 2023: Jhih-Yun Liu, University of Minnesota
  • 2022: Zhengliang Yang, University of Idaho
  • 2021: Karin Wu, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • 2020: Ethan Sabala, Texas Tech University
  • 2019: Louis Sears, Cornell University
  • 2018: Jose Nuno, Purdue University
  • 2017: Iryna Printezis, Arizona State University; Soye Shin, University of Georgia
  • 2016: Jongwook Lee, University of Minnesota; Chinoso Etumnu, University of San Francisco
  • 2015: Andrew Stevens, University of California, Berkeley
  • 2014: Jonathan McFadden, Iowa State University
  • 2013: Mariko Wijekoon, Clark University
  • 2012: David L. Ortega, Purdue University
  • 2011: John Roberts, University of Maryland
  • 2010: Brian Dillion, Cornell University
  • 2009: Feng Song, Michigan State University
  • 2008: Sudha Narayanan, Cornell University
  • 2007: Hope Michelson, Cornell University
  • 2006: Andrea Woolverton, University of Missouri
  • 2005: Caroline Gunning-Trant,  University of California, Davis