CONTENTS

Coupon Redemption and Cheese Purchase Timing

Manager's Viewpoint

Why Economic Analysis in the Evaluation Strategy?

Editor's Notes

Director’s Corner

Selected Readings

Next Meeting

NEC-63 Spring 1996 May 26-27, 1996 Cancun, Mexico Agricultural Commodity Promotion Policies and Programs in the Global Agrifood System

Director's Corner

by Harry M. Kaiser

On December 31, 1995, Olan Forker officially retired from Cornell University after a long and distinguished tenure in the field of agricultural economics. I am taking over some of Olan's responsibilities including the directorship of NICPRE. One of my immediate tasks was writing my first Director's Corner for the NICPRE Quarterly, which is just beginning its second full year in existence.

I think it only fitting to dedicate this issue to Olan, who has been a pioneer in the commodity promotion economics area. While most readers know Olan from his work in commodity promotion economics, many may not know that he has also been a leader in several other areas as well. In addition to being a professor in the department of Agricultural Economics at Cornell, Olan also served as chair of the department from 1976 to 1985, and chair of the undergraduate program from 1989 to 1994. He also served as a faculty trustee at Cornell University from 1984 to 1988. This is a prestigious and important position conferred upon only two faculty members from Cornell at a time. Olan was instrumental in getting funding from the Mellon Foundation and running an M.S. program in economics in Nitra, Slovakia for students from Eastern and Central Europe. This program currently trains about 25 M.S. students each year, some of whom have gone on to complete Ph.D. programs in the United States. Olan has also been a leader in the agricultural economics profession, serving as president of the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association in 1991, and as a director of the American Agricultural Economics Foundation from 1988 to 1989. Olan is widely respected and appreciated by his colleagues for all of the service he has volunteered over the years.

On February 2, 1996, Cornell University honored Olan's achievements and retirement in a day-long set of activities including a symposium on commodity promotion economics, a reception, and an evening dinner. On behalf of my colleagues at NICPRE, I extend to Olan our best wishes in his retirement. I will also be somewhat selfish and call often upon his expertise in the future to help continue the excellence in commodity promotion economics that Olan helped create.