home faculty directory agribusiness

Department Chair
Wayne Howard, Ph.D.
Texas A & M University
10-210, 756-5000, whhoward@calpoly.edu

Dr. Howard is a fifth generation Californian from Santa Barbara, California. His grandparents (maternal and paternal) were farmers, but his exposure to agriculture was limited while growing up. He received a B.A. in Economics from Humboldt State University, and he and his wife moved to San Luis Obispo, where he worked, and his wife studied Animal Science at Cal Poly. With degrees in hand, they joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching and working with agricultural cooperatives in the Philippines. After the Peace Corps came an M.S. from University of Florida and then a Lecturer position at Texas A & M University, where he also received his Ph.D. He then chose the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, as a good place to teach and do research on a wide variety of topics. His research program was primarily on decision making by farm managers. Specific topics included herd health management, human resource management, and succession planning. His teaching included farm management and agricultural economics. He currently teaches farm management, farm appraisal, and microeconomic theory. 

James J. Ahern, Ph.D.
University of Maryland
22-207, 756-5030, jahern@calpoly.edu

Dr. Ahern teaches Agribusiness Research Methods, Agricultural Price Analysis, Agricultural Economics, and Agricultural Policy. He is currently the advisor to the Polo Club. His research and industry interests include: agricultural marketing, where he has worked with the California Pistachio Commission, the California Kiwi Commission, the California Thoroughbred Breeders\'92 Association, NAERIC; equine marketing and economics; and agricultural resource policy issues.

William H. Amspacher, Ph.D.
U.C.D. Davis
22-307, 756-5018, wamspach@calpoly.edu

Dr. Amspacher teaches Agricultural Economic Analysis, Agribusiness Operations Analysis, Livestock Management Problems, and Wine Marketing Analysis (through Extended Education). He is part of a team within the Agribusiness Department consulting with the California Pistachio Commission to provide annual production forecasts. Specialties: Econometrics; Forecasting; Linear Programming.

Xiaowei Cai, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin
22-206, 756-5011, cai@calpoly.edu

Dr. Cai comes from Nanjing, an education, commercial and tourism center in the east region of China. She received her MS in Agricultural Economics and Management and BS in International Finance at Nanjing Agricultural University. In 2008, she received her Ph.D. from the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, with major fields in Industrial Organization and Economics of Agriculture. Dr. Cai started her teaching at Cal Poly in September, 2008. Currently, she teaches Agricultural Economics (AGB212) and World Food Economy (AGB370).

Dr. Cai's recent research is focused on the rationality of firm decision-making under imperfect competition. Her dissertation examines international cartel joining behavior and the effectiveness of government policies designed to limit such activity. Dr. Cai has conducted previous research on vegetable supply chain management in Nanjing, foreign direct investment decisions of 60 multinational food enterprises into Asia and Latin America, and oligopsony power of U.S. beef packers. Her current studies include potential anticompetitive behavior in the U.S. and global food systems, antitrust policy, and the financial feasibility of biofuels investments.

Phillip M. Doub, M.B.A.
College of William and Mary
22-202, 756-5026, pdoub@calpoly.edu

Professor Doub is a Cal Poly alumnus teaching a variety of agribusiness courses. These courses include: Agricultural Sales and Services, Managing Cultural Diversity, AgriMarketing Communications, Wine Distribution and Pricing, Wine Promotion and Packaging, and Agribusiness Strategic Management. He is the coach of the National AgriMarketing Association Team, and Director of the Wine Marketing Program. Specialties: Wine; Poultry; Human Resources; Business and Marketing Plans.

Lynn L. Hamilton, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
22-200, 756-5032, lhamilto@calpoly.edu

Dr. Hamilton teaches Agribusiness Principles, Agriculture Economic Analysis, and Farm Management. She worked previously for the National FFA and maintains contact by assisting with its annual national convention. Dr. Hamilton also works with multimedia and distance learning projects in the department, and serves as advisor to the ABM Club and Sigma Alpha. Specialties: Agricultural Income Distribution; Rural Community Development.

Sean P. Hurley, Ph.D.
Iowa State University
22-208, 756-5050, shurley@calpoly.edu

After receiving a B.A. in Economics with a minor in mathematics from USF, Sean went to Iowa State University to pursue his Ph.D. in Economics with a specialty in Agricultural Economics. His dissertation focused on measuring the potential marketability of pork with environmental attributes.

While finishing his dissertation at Iowa State, he took on an Assistant Professor position with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. While there he taught Farm Management, Agricultural Finance, and Farm Records Systems. At Cal Poly, he plans to continue his previous research work of examining new market potentials for products that have public good attributes, e.g., environmental attributes.

Jennifer S. James, Ph.D.
University of California - Davis
22-303, 756-5020, jsjames@calpoly.edu

Dr. James teaches Agricultural Economics (AGB 212) and Food and Fiber Marketing (AGB 301). Her research interests include the measurement of potential for technological spillovers, agricultural productivity, and returns to research; empirical investigations of consumer preferences for specific quality attributes, such as pasteurization levels of milk or other technologies used in food production; policy issues related to commodity marketing boards; and analyzing the effects of agricultural policies on different qualities of products. Dr. James is also a Microsoft Excel enthusiast, and is always looking for new ways to use Excel to analyze data and convey information.

Neal A. MacDougall, Ph.D.
U.C. Berkeley
22-201, 756-5034, nmacdoug@calpoly.edu

Mr. MacDougall teaches Agricultural Economic Analysis. His research interests include: the development of shrimp aquaculture in Ecuador and its impact on mangrove resources; California aquaculture and its environmental trade-offs; California water issues; green labeling in the food and fiber industry and technological change. He plans to further develop and apply Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing methods to his current research interest, as well as making further use of multimedia technologies as a means of disseminating his ongoing work and expanding his teaching capabilities. Mr. MacDougall has traveled extensively in Latin America and speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Robert E. McCorkle, M.S.
U.C. Davis
10-255, 756-5024, rmccorkl@calpoly.edu

Mr. McCorkle is a Cal Poly alumnus. He teaches Farm Accounting, Economic Analysis and Marketing, and is a consultant to industry. He has international agricultural work experience, having designed the Farmer-to-Farmer Training Program for Afghanistan, served as a consultant to the University of Swaziland, spent two years as chief farm management officer with the Ministry of Agriculture in Lusaka, Zambia, and one year as an agricultural economist with RESDO U.S. AID in Nairobi, Kenya. Mr. McCorkle is the Senior Advisor to the professional fraternity of Alpha Zeta. He is the Alpha Zeta High Council Secretary-Treasurer, a Director of the National Foundation and was recently awarded membership on the Alpha Zeta Centennial Honor Roll. Mr. McCorkle is the intern coordinator for the Agribusiness Department. Specialties: Farm and Ranch Management; Commodity Marketing; Agricultural Trade Policy; International Agricultural Development. 

McCullough Michael, Ph.D.
Washington State University
22-209, 756-5009,mpmccull@calpoly.edu

The Agribusiness Department welcomed Idaho native Michael McCullough this fall as an assistant professor. He is currently teaching Finance and Agricultural Economics. McCullough recently moved from Washington, where he received a Ph.D. in Economics and a Master of Science in Statistics from Washington State University. Before coming to Cal Poly, McCullough spent time as a post-doc studying the effects of different policies on the biofuels market.
Growing up outside of Boise, Idaho, McCullough went to Boise State University for his undergraduate degree and worked for the state doing economic forecasting. McCullough is delighted to join the department and has high expectations for his new role. “In conjunction with improving my teaching technique, I am interested in continuing my previous research using nonlinear dynamics as well as broadening my research topics.”McCullough enjoys all outdoor activities from skiing to backpacking and is very excited to be in San Luis Obispo so that he can experience everything that the central coast has to offer. “Maybe I’ll pick up surfing!”

Jay E. Noel, Ph.D.
U.C. Davis
10-253, 756-5014, jnoel@calpoly.edu

Dr. Noel teaches Agricultural Trade Policy, International Marketing, Economics, Marketing, Natural Resource Policy, and Information Systems. He is involved with the Agribusiness Management Club and is the advisor to the Policy Issues Forum. His research interests include economic analysis of agricultural trade issues, natural resource allocation, quantitative analysis of agricultural production and marketing, and analysis of agricultural cooperative performance. Dr. Noel received the 1994 SunWest Foods, Inc., Outstanding Agribusiness Faculty Award. He is the author and coauthor of a number of popular and academic articles on agricultural management, marketing and natural resource allocation issues. His interests include outdoor activities and travel. Specialties: International Trade Issues; Agribusiness Marketing and Management; Water and Natural Resource Allocation Issues.

Eivis Qenani-Petrela, Ph.D.
Washington State University
22-301, 756-5035, eqenanip@calpoly.edu

Dr. Quenani-Petrala teaches courses in agricultural economics, diversity, and labor management. Her research interests include agricultural labor, population, resource and development, and housing investments.

Christiane Schroeter, Ph.D.
Purdue University
22-302, 756-5045, cschroet@calpoly.edu

Dr. Schroeter completed a Bachelor's degree in Foods and Nutrition and a Master's degree in Food Economics at the University of Giessen, Germany. During her graduate studies in Germany, she was selected for a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Kansas State University, where she completed the Master's program in Agricultural Economics. In 2005, she graduated with her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, specializing in Agribusiness and Industrial Organization & Markets. Her dissertation research employed a microeconomic framework to determine the impact of food price and policy changes on obesity and won the 2005 Outstanding Dissertation award by the Agricultural Economics Department at Purdue University. Dr. Schroeter's research interests include Agribusiness Marketing, Consumer Research, and Food Policy. Currently, she teaches Global Agricultural Marketing and Microeconomics.

Kenneth C. Scott, Ph.D.
Washington State University
08-123B, 756-5025, kscott@calpoly.edu

Dr. Scott teaches Principles of Farm Management and advanced courses in Crop, Livestock, and Dairy Financial Management. He has performed research on land use planning, farm financial feasibility, and financial management practices on dairy farms. He has also written a commercially available computer program to perform financial budgeting and planning for dairy managers. Specialties: Farm and Ranch Management; Dairy Financial Management; Agricultural Economics. 

Carol Sexton

22-309, 756-5019, sexton@calpoly.edu











 

Erik Slayter
Accounting Professor
Certified Public Accountant
10-250, 756-5016, eslayter@calpoly.edu

Erik teaches accounting for the Agriculture Business Department. Formerly, Erik served as Division Controller for the San Luis Obispo County division of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE: WCN). Prior to Erik’s work for Waste Connections, he was Controller and MIS Director for Waller Genetics, a leading horticultural research company based in Santa Barbara County, California. Erik’s M.B.A. and degree in Accounting were both earned from Cal Poly. Erik holds an active Certified Public Accountant license from the State of California. Erik serves as founder and President of CCSoccer Corp., a non-profit recreational, adult soccer league.  

Marcia L. Tilley
University of Florida
10-251, 756-7512, mtilley@calpoly.edu

Marcia Tilley teaches Agricultural Finance, AGB 310. Her research interests include legal and regulatory issues in agriculture, regulation of biotechnology, financial management and estate planning. Marcia was previously a faculty member at Oklahoma State University where she taught agricultural finance and agricultural law.

Marlin D. Vix, M.S.
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
22-308, 756-5021, mvix@calpoly.edu

Mr. Vix teaches Agricultural Policy and Marketing. His interests are in produce marketing and succession planning.

Marianne M. Wolf, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
22-254, 756-5027, mwolf@calpoly.edu

Dr. Wolf is a consultant for one of the leading marketing research companies in the nation, Yankelovich Partners. She teaches Agricultural Economics, Marketing Research for Agribusiness, and Marketing Communication for Agribusiness. She has coauthored a book on the topic of simulated test marketing. She uses simulated test marketing methodology for forecasting the sales of new products and the impact of repositioning existing products in her consulting and teaching. She is a member of the Food Distribution Research Society.

ACADEMIC ADVISOR

HOOPER, Craig

10-202A

65013

crhooper@calpoly.edu

PART TIME AGRIBUSINESS FACULTY

ADAM, Sandra	10-252	65012	sadam@calpoly.edu
HILDEBRAND, Jacky	10-217	65418	jhildebr@calpoly.edu
SEXTON, Carol	22-309	65019	sexton@calpoly.edu
SLAYTER, Erik	10-250	65016	eslayter@calpoly.edu
SLEZAK, Steven	22-310	65008	sslezak@calpoly.edu
VILLA, Marcy	10-217	786-4145	mjvilla@calpoly.edu

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