Dr. James Rude – In Memoriam

 

 

May 8 2022 – Dr. James Rude, Associate Professor in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology passed away on May 6, 2022.

James completed his PhD in Agricultural Economics at the University of Guelph in 1993 (BA 1979, MA 1982 University of Saskatchewan). Following his time at Guelph he worked at Agriculture and Agrifood Canada from 1992 to 2001 although he was located in the Department of Ag Econ at the University of Saskatchewan for the last two of those years and spent a year, 1996-1997, as a visiting researcher at Iowa State University), and in 2002 accepted a faculty position at the University of Manitoba. He joined REES in 2007.

James’ research was stellar and he made major contributions to the areas of trade and Canadian agricultural policy. His recent work focused on the impacts of COVID-19 on the agri-food system as well as the economics of the livestock sector. His teaching was also exceptional, and his courses on price analysis and agricultural policy were foundational in the training of graduate students in agricultural economics. Most of our university undergraduates in agriculture also took James’s course in agricultural policy, many of whom too the course as an elective. His reputation led to national and international recognition where he provided advice to the Canadian Senate, as well as to the OECD, the Farm Foundation in the US and the Canadian Agri-Policy Institute. He also served on the executive committees of the Canadian Trade Policy Network, and the North American Agrifood Market Integration Consortium. He was a long-standing active participant in the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium.