Dr. Ronald C. Mittelhammer, Regents Professor, School of Economics Sciences and Dean, College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences (CAHNRS), was recognized with the 2014 Eminent Faculty Award.
Dr. Mittelhammer earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from Rutgers University (1972, 1974), and his doctorate in agricultural and resource economics from WSU in 1978.
In addition to three major books on statistics and econometrics, Dr. Mittelhammer has authored more than 250 publications and presentations, including more than 100 refereed journal articles and numerous book chapters. In 2012 he was named Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), Fellow of the Journal of Econometrics, and a Member of the Washington Academy of Sciences. He has been recognized as an Agricultural and Applied Economics Association president and past president, and a Distinguished Scholar of the Western Agricultural Economics Association.
Dr. Mittelhammer is a celebrated graduate-level teacher who has received national and university-wide awards for instruction including the Teaching Excellence Award, College of Agriculture and Home Economics, WSU, 1991; the American Agricultural Economics Association Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award in 2001, and the Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction in 2001-02. In addition to chairing the committees of 39 graduate students, he has served on the committees of more than 100 others, mentoring them in the rigorous application of quantitative economic methods.
Dr. Mittelhammer was one of the first professors promoted to the level of Regents Professor, WSU’s highest academic rank, in 2004. He was instrumental in the design of the School of Economic Sciences and served as its first director from 2004 to 2010.
Dr. Mittelhammer was appointed interim dean of CAHNRS on June 1, 2013. In his 35 years at WSU, Mittelhammer, a Cougar Alum, has displayed his unwavering Cougar pride, and brought to CAHNRS and WSU a deep commitment to research, discovery, and continuous improvement, as well as a wealth of experience. He works to cultivate and strengthen WSU’s many collaborative relationships with industry and other stakeholders. Internally, his goal is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations while fostering a sense of community and team spirit among faculty, staff, and students.