Purdue trustees honor professor, OK autonomy for North Central

Matthew Holt, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, was appointed to the Wickersham Chair of Excellence in Agricultural Research. With this appointment, Purdue has 119 named or distinguished professors.

"Professor Holt is a leading authority on price hedging," said Provost Sally Mason. "His achievements in agricultural production economics are recognized throughout the world."

Matthew Holt

Holt's current research includes an economic history of the hog-corn cycle in the United States; implications of climate anomalies, such as El Niño, for forecasting primary commodity prices; the role of transactions costs in price adjustments in North American wood and forest products markets; the impact of the long-term decline in commodity prices relative to those of manufactured goods for both developed and developing countries; and the seasonal rate of change in global surface temperatures over the past 400 years.

His prior work has examined the role of changing consumer preferences in the demand for meats, the ability of futures markets to predict future cash price relationships, and the role of government programs and price and yield risk in agricultural production relationships.

Holt joined Purdue's faculty in January, having held faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Arizona and most recently at North Carolina State University.

Holt served on editorial boards of several leading economics and agricultural economics journals, including the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the Review of Agricultural Economics, and the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics. He currently serves on the board of directors of the American Agricultural Economics Association.

Holt received his bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural economics from Purdue in 1981 and 1983, respectively. He earned his doctorate in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1987. He grew up on a family farm in north-central Indiana.

He is the second recipient of the Wickersham chair, which is named for Orpha M. Wickersham, who left an endowment to Purdue to support agricultural research.

Trustees also approved a petition for campus academic autonomy for Purdue North Central, in Westville, Ind. North Central was the only non-autonomous campus in the Purdue system.

"Obtaining campus academic autonomy does not mean that the campus will no longer be a part of Purdue or participate fully in the Purdue system," said James B. Dworkin, North Central chancellor. "Campus academic autonomy simply means that the North Central faculty will exercise the same academic authority that the faculties of the other campuses exercise in relation to their academic programs. This includes decisions such as faculty hiring, academic schedules, admissions and graduation requirements, and the development of new degree programs."

Dworkin, who has been North Central's chancellor since 2000, said future plans for the campus include building a student and community activity center and a science building.

As of fall 2005, 58 percent of the 3,500 students at Purdue North Central were full time. Students can choose from two graduate degrees, 12 bachelor's and 11 associate's programs, as well as courses that prepare them for transfer to West Lafayette or other campuses.

The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools accredited the campus as a baccalaureate degree-granting institution in 2001. In addition, a National Credentialing Agency team report recommended campus academic autonomy after a focus visit in 2003.

"Purdue North Central has been recognized for leadership in economic development and other engagement activities by area chambers of commerce, economic development offices, and businesses and governmental agencies," Dworkin said.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Sources: Sally Mason, (765) 494-9709, sfmason@purdue.edu

Matthew Holt, (765) 494-7709, mholt@purdue.edu

James Dworkin, (219) 785-5331, jdworkin@pnc.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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