Dr. Penson is Regents Professor and Stiles Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agribusiness from Southern Illinois University, after which he served as an agricultural economist with the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, DC. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois in 1973, receiving the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from the American Agricultural Economics Association. He returned to the USDA in Washington before joining the faculty at Texas A&M University in 1975. His major areas of emphasis have involved modeling the linkages between the general economy and agriculture, with particular emphasis on credit markets.
As a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve System in the early 1980s, Dr. Penson conducted research in the areas of potential gross domestic product (GDP) and the role of capacity depreciation in aggregate investment behavior in agriculture, presenting his research results at the Board of Governors in Washington, DC. His research at Texas A&M University led to publications in many journals, including the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, and the Journal of Lending and Credit Risk Management. Among Dr. Penson's awards for research is the Policy Contribution Award from the American Agricultural Economics Association. He has also applied his research expertise in a number of consulting activities, including studies for the Farm Credit Administration and the American Bankers Association, and has made numerous presentations before such credit audiences as the Board of Directors of the Farm Credit Administration, the President's Planning Committee of the Farm Credit System, and the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Treasury.
Dr. Penson served as Editor of the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics published by the Southern Agricultural Economics Association during 2001-2004. He currently serves as co-editor of Choices published by the American Agricultural Association. He has also authored or co-authored 15 books, including the textbook Introduction to Agricultural Economics now in its fourth edition.
Dr. Penson has been an active participant in the teaching program at Texas A&M University. He has taught the introductory course to approximately 7,000 students over the last 10 years as well as a senior level course in the macroeconomics of agriculture. Dr. Penson has also taught graduate courses in macroeconomics and finance in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Ecuador. He is the recipient of the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award from the Western Agricultural Economics Association and the Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award - More Than Ten Years Experience from the American Agricultural Economics Association.
Dr. Penson received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from Southern Illinois University and is one of a small group of faculty members at Texas A&M University who have received the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award at the university level from the Association of Former Students in both teaching and research. Dr. Karen Kubena, Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, noted, "Despite the fact that more than 2,000 faculty members are at Texas A&M University, Dr. Penson has garnered awards in both of these arenas at the university level from the Association of Former Students."
Copyright Southern Agricultural Economics Association Aug 2007