image: Kimberly L. Jensen, professor and agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, has received the distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association. view more
Credit: Photo by T. Johnson, courtesy UTIA.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Kimberly L. Jensen, a professor at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture has received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
The award is given in recognition of her considerable contributions to the agricultural economics profession and to Southern agriculture. Jensen accepted the award at the 2018 SAEA annual meeting, which was held February 5-6 in Jacksonville, Florida.
"Dr. Jensen is a highly respected faculty member and leader within the UT Institute of Agriculture," said Bill Brown, UTIA dean of AgResearch. "In addition to being an excellent collaborator, teacher and mentor, she also has an uncanny ability to process a complex issue, synthesize information and make the issue understandable. She is very deserving of this award."
Jensen conducts research and teaches economic analysis of agricultural markets and marketing functions in the Department of Agricultural and Research Economics. Her research interests include bioenergy economics; agribusiness; analysis of value-added agricultural markets; consumer preference and demand for food and fiber products; and environmental labeling.
She is also a founding member of both the Agri-Industry Modeling and Analysis Group (AIM-AG), and the Biobased Energy Analysis Group (BEAG). AIM-AG's mission is to assess and project the impacts of agri-industry development on the Tennessee economy, while the mission of BEAG is to provide decision makers in government and industry with up-to-date economic and environmental analyses of the biobased industry at the firm, state, regional and national levels.
Her research has received more than $4 million in grant and contract funding. Jensen's research client base includes producer organizations; USDA; U.S. Department of Energy; EPA; Tennessee Department of Agriculture; Tennessee Valley Authority; Tennessee Department of Tourist Development; Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development; U.S. Forest Service; and local economic development agencies. She has developed more than 300 publications and presentations, including 65 peer-reviewed journal articles, and continues serving as a mentor to future agricultural economists.
Jensen earned her Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University; a master's in agribusiness from Arizona State University; and a bachelor's in bioagricultural science from Arizona State University. She joined the ARE faculty in 1986 and currently teaches Microeconomic Applications to Agricultural and Resource Markets and The Food and Agricultural Marketing System.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture celebrates 50 years of excellence in providing Real. Life. Solutions. through teaching, discovery and service. ag.tennessee.edu.
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