Utah State Alum Receives Prestigious Recognition for Work in Agriculture

A degree from Utah State gets you a good education and a jump start on your career. Add 37 years experience, world-wide traveling and national recognition, and you get Morris Whitaker.


Whitaker, an alumnus of Utah State, is being honored by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) for his international work in agricultural economics. Whitaker will be included in the IICA's book 60 in 60, which honors him and 59 other influential people from North and South America who have significantly contributed to the progression of agriculture throughout the past 60 years.

Whitaker was surprised when he received the nomination, and because of his current assignment as president of the Mexico City East Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was unable to attend the recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C. He was nominated by colleagues at Utah State and said it was special for him to be recognized by his peers for his efforts. One of those peers, Chris Fawson, current director of International Programs and vice-provost for the university, said that Whitaker's efforts have contributed greatly to the economic growth of many countries.

"Dr. Whitaker understood the important role of agriculture in overall economic growth and development," said Fawson. "He understood the necessity of having more efficient and productive agriculture in order to achieve faster sustained economic growth in developing countries."

Of the many developing countries that Whitaker worked in, much of his time was spent in Ecuador, Brazil and Bolivia. He has more than 23 years of consulting experience in countries with large organizations like the IICA and the Agency for International Development. He also wrote and co-authored seven books on Latin American agriculture, one of them a best seller in Ecuador. His work has been internationally recognized by scholars in his field.

"As I travel the world, I invariably meet prominent individuals who knew Morris by
reputation, or who worked with him and respected his commitment to the poor and disenfranchised of the developing world," said Fawson. "For many people, Morris epitomized the commitment of Utah State University to extending its resources as a way to improve the quality of life in the developing world."

Although Whitaker has traveled the world filling administrative positions, his home base is in Logan. Serving as director of Utah State's Office of International Programs for 16 years, he obtained many research and technical assistance projects for the university due to his experience as a consultant on the economic policy of water resource management. One of his major projects over the last three decades has been the development of economic policies that lead to and sustain private sector use of national and regional water resources.

This contribution and others have reflected positively on Whitaker and Utah State, Fawson said. Whitaker's dedication has moved the university forward in the international arena, his main objective being to diversify the funding support for international programs from various international donor agencies. He traveled all over the world to accomplish this objective.

"Wherever Dr. Whitaker worked, he always put Utah State's interests first," said Kermit Hall, president of Utah State. "In fact, his entire career was spent promoting the university. He was instrumental in raising the international visibility of Utah State."

According to Whitaker, Utah State is an internationally respected institution and has a strong reputation in international development among global funding agencies. He said that whatever he accomplished was through the efforts of other Utah State professors working as a team.

"Without Utah State, there would be no recognition," said Whitaker. "USU provided the environment that helped me to grow and develop. In essence, the award is for a true team effort over many years, involving many people, and reflects as much on Utah State and my colleagues as it does on me."

Whitaker received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Utah State University by 1966, and he received his doctorate in agricultural economics from Purdue University in 1970. He returned to Utah State and taught microeconomic theory, international agricultural development and environmental policy economics from 1970-1978. Whitaker said he is grateful for the many friends and colleagues he met during his time at Utah State whose vision, dedication and hard work for more than 30 years made this recognition possible.


Contacts: Kathie McConkie, (435) 797-1842
Chris Fawson, (435) 797-1840
Writer: Miaken Christensen, (435) 797-1350