Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota

In Memory of Maureen Kilkenny

We start 2026 on a somber note. Maureen Kilkenny (PhD 1987) passed away on December 14, 2025. I first met Maureen in the early 1990s when I was a graduate student at Iowa State University (ISU). After graduating and going to work for the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development at ISU, I got to know her better while helping her design an externality and tradable permit experiment for her agricultural policy class — an experiment she later published in the Review of Agricultural Economics. Over the past five years, I have been reminded of Maureen’s passion for agricultural economics and rural development policy research and education through my service on the Board of Trustees for the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy — a center she selflessly led with Stan Johnson for many years. She will be missed.

News

Terry Hurley Named 2026 AAEA Fellow

January 22, 2026

Please join us in celebrating Terry Hurley as being selected as one of AAEA's 2026 Fellows!

Trump administration freezes child care funding amid fraud claims: Impacts on families, providers, and politics

January 7, 2026

President Donald Trump’s administration says it’s freezing $185 million in child care funds nationwide this year amid allegations of potential fraud in Minnesota.

Professor Elizabeth Davis, Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, is interviewed.

Steve Polasky receives the Publication of Enduring Quality Award

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Steve Polasky won the Publication of Enduring Quality Award from the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) in 2025.

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