OSU alumna and Extension economist Damona Doye awarded her profession’s highest honor
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
It is widely considered the most prestigious official honor in academia, to be recognized for one’s lifetime achievement by being named a Fellow by one’s professional organization.
“Dr. Doye is the embodiment of the land-grant mission to help people improve the quality of life for them, their families and their communities,” said Tom Coon, DASNR vice president, dean and director. “She is particularly committed to helping farm families learn new business and financial management practices that strengthen their operational sustainability.”
A faculty member with the OSU department of agricultural economics since 1986, Doye has devoted her career to serving farmers and ranchers through programs designed to increase the overall management capacity and skill set of those involved in production agriculture, with a particular focus on providing practical real-world tools and educational opportunities needed to make informed decisions.
“Before I came to OSU, I tried to recruit Dr. Doye away on two separate occasions to provide leadership at another land-grant university,” Coon said. “I never succeeded and so I decided to come to OSU so I could work with her here. It was a good move.”
Coon believes there are two facets to Doye’s career that embody her success in helping others to succeed: First, he said, she is a very bright and a dedicated scholar who never rests on her accomplishments but is always pushing herself to learn and adopt new concepts, information and technological tools relative to farm and ranch management.
“Second, she is driven by compassion for families in agricultural and food production operations,” Coon said. “Whether it is in assisting women involved in farm operations or in helping families evaluate their financial management options during times of economic stress, she reaches out with materials and analyses they can put to work.”
Doye is regarded throughout the nation as a leader in the agricultural economics profession. She is a past president of the Southern Agricultural Economics Association; has served as chair of the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics; and is a past director on the board of the AAEA.
AAEA Fellow John Lee, professor and agricultural economics department head emeritus at Mississippi State University, is quick to brag on Doye’s strong leadership record in multiple facets of the agricultural economics profession.
“Damona’s academic appointment has always been in Extension, where she has had a major influence on the content, style and effectiveness of outreach at the state, regional and national levels,” Lee said. “Plus her creative presence has been felt in research and teaching because of her remarkable ability to sense emerging economic issues, hence priorities for our profession. Damona’s record of service to the profession is rivaled by few.”
When it comes to Extension programming, Doye’s efforts have been instrumental in helping county, area and state staff in addressing farm and ranch management issues, among them financial planning and management, enterprise budgets, record-keeping, cost of production, women in agriculture, farmland values, rental rates and leasing arrangements, and computer-and-electronic-based software tools.
To reach as many people in need as possible, Doye has been featured in popular press news stories, both print and broadcast; written publications; conducted interactive computer workshops, created a wide array of content for websites; made presentations everywhere from local to international venues; helped create software applications; and been an authoritative expert presence on social media venues, especially OSU’s Farm Management Facebook page and Women in Agriculture’s Facebook page.
“It’s no secret why Damona has long been a regional and national leader in our profession: It is because of her strong commitment to service coupled with her well-earned and widely recognized reputation for program excellence,” said Mike Woods, professor and head of DASNR’s department of agricultural economics, who has known Doye since the 1980s.
Woods added a particular hallmark of Doye’s programs is her adaptation of Quicken for farms, ranches and other agricultural enterprises.
“The reach of her programming includes producers, agricultural lenders and agricultural industry personnel, plus Extension staff in Oklahoma and beyond,” Woods said. “Furthermore, Damona currently serves as the U.S. vice president for the International Farm Management Association, so when it comes to potential influence in our field, we’re talking a reach second to none.”
Doye even stepped in as interim department head while Woods assumed the position of DASNR’s interim vice president, dean and director for a year.
“Damona is considered a pioneer in many ways as a woman in agriculture,” Woods said. “She was the first female OSU Cooperative Extension state specialist, as well as the first female member – and subsequent chair – of both the Southern Extension Farm Management Committee and the North Central Farm Management Extension Committee. She also served as the first female chair of the Extension section and now the C-FARE Board of Directors.”
Scott Irwin, AAEA Fellow and holder of the Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, added the following:
“If someone wanted to know the best Extension agricultural economist in the United States today, Damona Doye would have to be included near the top of the list,” he said.
Irwin did not stop there. He feels what is truly unique about Doye and what makes her so influential is that she excels at both the “high touch” and traditional Extension activities, such as making presentations at local Extension meetings, responding to producer questions or being interviewed by the media, as well as the application of modern digital technology.
“She has a remarkable record of success in all aspects of modern Extension work,” he said. “She has a terrific eye for emerging issues, conducts relevant research to provide the foundation for programs and develops innovative programs to address the issues. Her programs for the beef sector have been outstanding.”
A native of Lawton, Doye earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree – both in agricultural economics – from OSU in 1980 and 1981, respectively. She earned her doctoral degree in agricultural economics from Iowa State University in 1986, before returning to Cowboy nation as a member of the OSU faculty.
“One of my fondest memories is Damona coming home from college and helping out on the farm, which she did for many years,” said Thad Doye, brother and currently interim director of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau. “I was 10 years younger, so I remember her letting me tag along at all these great ag events growing up. I may be biased but I think my big sister deserves every honor. She certainly has made a difference in the lives of many Oklahoma farm families.”
The Agricultural and Applied Economics Association is a not-for-profit association serving the professional interests of members working in agricultural and broadly related fields of applied economics. The organization seeks to enhance the skills, knowledge and professional contributions of economists who help society solve agricultural, development, environmental, food and consumer, natural resource, regional, rural and associated applied economics and business problems.