Economics Department Head now Associate Vice President
After teaching at USU for 25 years, spending the past two as department head of economics, Deevon Bailey has been appointed as the associate vice president for research, specifically international program development, and will begin his new role on May 1.
As research vice president, Bailey’s main responsibility will be to see that the international research program continues to expand.
Bailey said, “There is a degree of nervousness associated with taking on any new position, especially one with this much responsibility and visibility, but I am very excited to be able to do this sort of work. I think its important work for a number of reasons.”
Two-thirds of the world lives in a developing country and while they may not have the wealth we have, opportunities give them hope for a better tomorrow, Bailey said.
“As long as people have a way for achieving their goals then they will do what they can, but once you remove hope and opportunities from people then that is when you are going to have a great deal of political instability,” he said.
USU’s strong areas of international research are in irrigation engineering, arid lands, rain science and associated social sciences, Bailey said. Right now, he said there are a number of initiatives related to irrigation engineering. They are very hopeful in broadening presence in the Middle East and sub-Saharn Africa, which are the areas of greatest need for education and irrigation efficiencies, he said. Currently, he said, there are programs on developing biotechnology in China.
Bailey said the program works like this: a country that has a need will work with an agency, contract for research and then call for proposals. He said organizations like USU’s would see this call for a proposal. If awarded, he said they then develop partnerships in the countries and hire foreign nationals in that country to manage the day to day efforts. Long-term projects require that professors go and live in that country for a length of time to do any technical assistance and training that needs to be coordinated. Bailey said since 1990, USU has received grants and contracts totaling $42 million through international research efforts.
We need to be involved, he said, “we cannot stand idly by and assume just because things appear to be good to us today, that it doesn’t matter what happens to the rest of the world, we need to consider how to provide opportunities to people. One of the best way is to help them develop economically.”
Bailey said that USU has a very good international reputation for the research done, for one reason, USU has been doing this for such a long time. Bailey said this program started at USU 80 years ago when John A. Widtsoe was president of the university. He started an international technical assistance program in Persia, which is now Iran. Bailey said USU has had an international presence for a long time and the agricultural efforts are widely know and successful, which is another reason USU’s stature is so well known.
He said another reason USU has good stature and status in international circles is “the number of graduates that we have that work in very important areas of influence worldwide. They come here, get a degree, return to their home lands, they get involved in business or government agencies and then they rise within those agencies.”
Bailey said the global economy is important to what happens in everyday life, and one-third of the economical activity can be tied to trade in some way. He said USU needs people who know how to function in the global environment and know how other systems work. People need to have experience interfacing with other people, he said.
Bailey said the current vice president for research, Morris Whittaker, has spent a lot of time helping Bailey prepare for his new position. Bailey said they have worked together, traveled together and he has learned a lot by spending time with Whittaker.
“I have tried to work very closely with Morris for the past three months,” Bailey said. “Morris has a tremendous knowledge of the institutions that surround international research within the United States and worldwide. He is so well known and so respected. I appreciate him spending so much time with me.”
-n.drue.t@aggiemail.usu.edu