David Orden honored with emeritus status

David Orden, professor of agricultural and applied economic in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The emeritus title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.

A member of the Virginia Tech community for 41 years, Orden has served as a faculty member in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and as director of the Global Issues Initiative in the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment. He has brought international visibility to the university through collaborations at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and at Stanford University and, in the second half of his career, through 13 years in a joint appointment at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

Orden developed path breaking methods and empirical analysis of the effects of monetary policy on agricultural prices and trade. He co-authored an award-winning book on U.S. farm support legislation and provided analysis of these policies in domestic and international context over 25 subsequent years. Orden also provided economic and political analysis that contributed to the opening of the $1 billion annual trade of avocados from Mexico to the United States.

Orden has been an author or editor of five books, 53 peer-reviewed journal articles, 42 book chapters, and 125 research monographs, conference proceedings, journal special issues, other research papers, and public policy outreach articles. He contributed through four books and related publications to building understanding of international regulation regarding agricultural and food safety and quality under the World Trade Organization and to assessments of the organization's rules and commitments, implementation, disputes, ongoing negotiations, and future prospects for international disciplines on agricultural support.

In the first half of his career, Orden taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in international economics and applied microeconomics, serving as advisor for 17 Ph.D. dissertations and master’s theses.

Orden received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, a master’s degree from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota.