Adesoji Obafemi Adelaja

John A. Hannah Distinguished Professors College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

• John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor
• Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Bio

Adesoji O. Adelaja is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. His research interests include energy policy and economic development, land use policy, emerging issues in agricultural and food policy, and economics of land security.

He earned his BS from Pennsylvania State University, and his two MS degrees and PhD from West Virginia University. Prior to coming to Michigan State University in 2004, Adelaja was a member of the faculty at Rutgers University where he served as Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dean of Cook College, Executive Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Professor and Chair of Agricultural Food and Resource Economics, Director of the Food Policy Institute, Director of the Food Innovation Center, and Director of the Eco-Policy Center.

Adelaja founded the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University in 2006 and served as its director until 2011. In that capacity, he also served as the director of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. His work in public policy is highly respected and widely published, and he has served as advisor to several key local, state and national policy makers.