February 2, 2018
The overprescribing of opioid-based painkillers may be the main driver of the increased abuse of opioids in rural America, but economists say that other factors, including declining farm income, extreme weather and other natural disasters, may affect a crisis that is killing thousands of citizens and costing the country billions of dollars.
December 20, 2017
Congrats to our AgrAbility team for receiving funding from the USDA-NIFA to help prevent fatalities and serious injuries associated with farming and to provide assistance to individuals farming with disabilities.
December 14, 2017
Food safety practices that Americans take for granted — washing hands with soap, refrigeration, and not cutting raw meat and vegetables on the same surface without disinfection — are not widely practiced in other places around the world, and researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences want to change that.
November 2, 2017
Thomas Mischen, of Gibsonia, and Sylvester "Sy" Tanner, of Turtlepoint, were randomly placed together as roommates during the fall of 1966 -- the first semester of their freshman year at Penn State -- and have been close friends ever since. To commemorate their enduring friendship, the friends recently established the Mischen/Tanner Scholarship Fund in the College of Agricultural Sciences.
October 27, 2017
The Everett S. Lee Graduate Student Paper Award goes to Donghui Wang for her paper titled "No country for old people? Elder's perceptions toward own-aging, modernization and social change in China." The Walter Terrie Award for Applied Demography goes to Guangqing Chi and Donghui Wang for their paper titled "Population projection accuracy: The impacts of sociodemographics, accessibility, land use, and neighbor characteristics." Congratulations!
October 26, 2017
Sterman Masser, Pennsylvania's largest potato producer, knows consumers aren't reaching for 5- and 10-pound bags of raw potatoes like they used to, and growing its business means developing new value-added products. So students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are working on finding solutions to this market challenge.
October 19, 2017
Four new Fulbright Scholars, who arrived at the College of Agricultural Sciences in August, are looking to economics, sociology, and soil and plant science research for ways to put Colombia at the forefront of the world's cacao production. Under the guidance of faculty at Penn State, they will attempt to tackle some of the country's most pervasive issues, from education to production challenges and corruption.
October 12, 2017
On October 18th-20th, two graduate students, Ilse Huerta Arredondo and Celize Christy, will represent the University at World Food Prize events in Des Moines, Iowa. The symposium correlates with both Ilse's and Celize's research. Celize's research focuses on local traditional knowledge related to the management of poultry diseases in Rwanda. Ilse's research interests are agricultural awareness through non-formal education to promote supportive agricultural policy-making, especially in Mexico.
October 9, 2017
Emily Seiger, a community, environment and development major in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is gaining insight into problems related to food safety, hygiene and food security around the world.
October 4, 2017
Congratulations to Dr. Bowen for her research being featured in Penn State News!
October 3, 2017
Kelli Herr, senior in community, environment and development in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, spent her break a long way from home in Thulo Pakhar, Nepal. She worked with a group called All Hands Volunteers, a U.S.-based nonprofit disaster relief organization.
September 20, 2017
M.E. John Seminar Series with Brian King, Associate Professor of Geography September 29, 2017 2:30-3:30pm 215 Armsby Building
August 31, 2017
Ongoing research conducted by Nicole Webster, associate professor of youth and international development in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, examines the role of youth in civic engagement and social change.
August 22, 2017
Many would argue that bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. But when it comes to the profitability and survival of Pennsylvania farms, size apparently matters, according to a report compiled by economists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
June 14, 2017
Laszlo Kulcsar, professor of sociology and head of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at Kansas State University, will join Penn State as head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, effective Aug. 1.
May 25, 2017
Dr. Radhakrishna wins "Outstanding Agricultural Educator" award
May 22, 2017
Congratulations Dr. Leif Jensen
May 17, 2017
A new undergraduate certificate program offered by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will give students interested in agricultural stewardship an opportunity for classroom and hands-on learning in the sustainability of agricultural soil and water resources. The Agricultural Stewardship and Conservation Certificate program will provide critical coursework and practical experience that will help make students marketable for jobs in the public and private sector.
May 17, 2017
A group of institutions led by Penn State has received nearly $2.2 million for the first year of a planned four-year, $5 million project aimed at developing a model for engaging communities and stakeholders to ensure adequate supplies of good-quality water both for and from agriculture. Partners include the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, Arizona State University and the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
April 19, 2017
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has renewed for another five years its support for the UNESCO Chair in Rural Community, Leadership, and Youth Development at Penn State. Mark Brennan, a faculty member in the College of Agricultural Sciences, will continue in his role as chair and provide leadership to the program.
April 10, 2017
Encouraging youth to have empathy for others is the goal of a research initiative spearheaded by a graduate student at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
April 4, 2017
Attracting college graduates and boosting natural amenities may give communities a double shot of economic growth potential, according to economists. In a study, the share of college graduates — often referred to as human capital — and the quality of life in a community were found to significantly contribute to economic growth, said Stephan Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.
March 20, 2017
Congratulations, Dr. Carolyn Sachs
March 16, 2017
Luzerne County is nestled in the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. The county seat, Wilkes-Barre, lies on the edge of the Susquehanna River, which snakes through the region before emptying into the Chesapeake Bay. Ryan Cooper grew up in Wilkes-Barre. It will always be home to the 29-year-old veteran, despite the struggles he's faced here.
March 16, 2017
The effectiveness of Head Start in preparing children for elementary school is currently being debated, but in Pennsylvania, the program has benefited from several Penn State initiatives.
March 13, 2017
Brian Thiede, assistant professor of rural sociology, received the 2016-17 Roy C. Buck Faculty Award for his paper, "Climate variability and inter-provincial migration in South America, 1970-2011."
January 30, 2017
The Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education is saddened to announce the death of Rex H. Warland, Professor Emeritus of Rural Sociology, early on Sunday morning, January 29, 2017, in Cleveland, Ohio. Rex was on the faculty in Rural Sociology from 1966 until his retirement in 2001. A memorial service is being planned for late Spring, with details to be provided by the family.
January 27, 2017
Although Alyssa Gurkis and Hayly Hoch are both students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, they didn’t know each other when they embarked on a 10-week food-system internship last summer with Penn State Extension-Allegheny County. Now they’re close friends, roommates, and collaborators on a food-system project of their own.
January 27, 2017
Representatives from the Penn State Agronomy Club, a student organization in the College of Agricultural Sciences, took first place at the National Forage Bowl competition at the American Forage and Grassland Conference, held Jan. 23-24 in Roanoke, Virginia. The competition requires students to identify forage and weed species and answer questions about many aspects of forages, from seeds to animal health, in a format similar to the popular game show "Jeopardy!"
January 11, 2017
A $20 million, five-year project with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) looks to create a state-of-the-art framework of computational tools that will help to assess the impacts of weather-related variability and change. Penn State is one of two lead institutions on the project and will receive half of the funding. Stanford University is the other.
