Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--A widely recognized Mississippi State University sociologist is a new member of a national committee advising the U.S. agriculture secretary.
Frank M. Howell, an authority on social statistics, is among nine new members recently appointed by Secretary Mike Johanns to serve a two-year term on the Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics. The 25-member body, which represents a broad range of disciplines and interests, holds its annual meeting Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 14 and 15) in Washington, D.C.
The ACAS advises the agriculture secretary on issues related to the Census of Agriculture, a survey conducted every five years, most recently in 2002. Through its collective expertise, the committee helps the National Agricultural Statistics Service, a USDA agency, keep current with national data needs and trends in a rapidly changing agricultural environment.
Howell is considered a pioneer in the application of geographical information systems in social research. He also is co-founder of the research journal Social Science Computer Review.
"Mississippi State has a long and proud tradition of excellence in social science, particularly as it relates to agriculture and rural health," said Dean Philip B. Oldham of MSU's College of Arts and Sciences.
"Dr. Howell's selection for this high-level advisory committee in the Department of Agriculture is yet one more example of how the research scholarship produced at Mississippi State is having a direct and positive impact on national policy and, ultimately, the lives of private citizens," Oldham added.
Howell said he feels his work over several decades with the Census of Agriculture, NASS crop statistics, experience with spatial technology, and service as panel manager of the National Research Initiative led to his selection.
Joining him as new members are agricultural economists, rural sociologists, farm policy analysts, and state and national agriculture representatives from Indiana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nebraska, California, Wisconsin, and Colorado.
At Mississippi State, Howell teaches research design, social statistics, techniques of survey research, and spatial analysis, among others. His research areas include communities, the environment and public policy, and he has published more than 80 books, monographs, chapters, and journal articles in many of the leading journals in the field.
In 2000, he received the Southern Rural Sociological Association's highest honor, the Excellence in Research Award.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional information, contact Dr. Howell at (662) 325-7872 or fmh1@ra.msstate.edu.