Alumni & Friends Newsletter | Fall 2025 | Agricultural & Consumer Economics

Welcome from the Head

Sarah Low with ACE students at New Student Welcome in August.

Dear ACE Alumni & Friends,

Welcome to our second 2025 newsletter. It has been quite a year in Mumford Hall, and this issue reflects that. We congratulate Dr. Teresa Serra, Hieronymus Distinguished Chair in Futures Markets and Director, Office of Futures and Options Research, as ACE’s new Director of Graduate Studies. Our External Advisory Committee welcomes Chad Hertz, Nancy Geubelle, and Heather Hampton Knodle as new members and this issue's alumni spotlight features current member, Dr. LeeAnn Moss. Keep reading for more!

Of course, this newsletter does not cover all the exciting things happening in ACE. For example, the TIAA Center for Farmland Research, directed by beloved Prof. Bruce Sherrick, hired an assistant director to support the center’s rigorous research on farmland markets and farmland valuation and returns indexing resources. Dr. Juo-Han Tsay completed her PhD in ACE in 2022 and has spent the last three years as an assistant professor at University of Missouri. We are thrilled to have her back in Mumford Hall.

Finally, I want to thank you for your gifts of time, energy, and money to ACE. We love having you back in the classroom or hosting students in the boardroom! We appreciate your connection with us, especially during this challenging time in higher education. Tuition is high, and there is little bandwidth for increases. Government funding for research is rapidly declining. University-wide, new federal awards are down by 30%, and terminated awards totaled $622M. For the College of ACES, the number of new federal awards is down by 60%, and almost $23M in federal awards have been terminated since January 20 of this year. Higher education leaders like me need to be increasingly creative in funding our units and providing resources for excellent teaching, research, outreach, and Extension. Please consider making a personally meaningful gift to ACE in the coming year, whether it be time or money. Continue reading to discover how we make a positive impact on lives.

Best regards,

Sarah Low, professor & head, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics

News from Undergraduate Programs

Undergraduate Program Update

Greetings from ACE Undergraduate Programs! We have had an exciting fall semester welcoming yet another record-breaking class of 180 first year students who are benefiting from an orientation course taught by Professor and Head Dr. Sarah Low and beloved Instructor Ailie Elmore. We have enjoyed these students’ curiosity about campus and the amazing hands-on opportunities they have within our Department. One such experience for which our office is preparing is the spring International Business Immersion Program (IBIP), which will be incorporating a global classroom with colleagues in Brazil. Professor Meredith Blumthal and Senior Academic Advisor and Experiential Learning Coordinator Chaya Sandler traveled to Brazil two years ago with IBIP to strengthen this partnership and lay the foundation for collaborations on topics of food and agribusiness management. This year, Professor Nick Paulson, along with a number of experts, will join Chaya Sandler to spearhead the project and travel abroad. Keep an eye out for an update in our spring newsletter!

Financial Planning Alumni and Faculty at Financial Planning Day 2025

Fall in undergraduate programs also heavily features career and internship recruitment processes. ACE students participated in campus-sponsored career fairs as well as career and networking events hosted by the Department of ACE. This fall, the Department hosted its inaugural ACE Career Insider Event, which provided a networking opportunity for nearly 100 students to meet with 8 companies and expand their professional networks. Students were exposed to new and exciting career opportunities and learned the power of professional communication as they enter the job and internship search process. Our annual Agricultural Accounting Banquet hosted 13 accounting firms and over 60 students, providing a more intimate setting for students to learn about the industry and connect with employers to explore job and internship opportunities. Finally, Financial Planning Day remained a huge success with more than 36 firms and over 300 students from 6 universities participating to deepen their knowledge of the financial planning landscape. We are proud of our students’ developing professional skills and eager to see how these activities will pay off! Click the links below to read more about our students’ hands-on involvement in their chosen industries as well as how faculty creatively integrate experiential learning into their classrooms.

Check out some of the exciting activities in which our instructors and students are engaged!

ACE 241 gives students real-world financial skills through hands-on "Action Learning" project: https://aces.illinois.edu/news/ace-241-gives-illinois-students-real-world-financial-skills-through-hands-action-learning

News from Graduate Programs

ACE graduate students enjoy a Friendsgiving event hosted by the Graduate Student Organization

Celebrating Recent PhD Placements

We are delighted to celebrate the successful placements of our recent PhD graduates, who have secured positions at prestigious institutions across academia and industry. Our 2025 graduates have secured faculty positions at universities such as the University of Saskatchewan, Kyoto University, Cal Poly State University, Sophia University, and Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, among others. We are equally proud of graduates who have taken on postdoctoral research roles at institutions such as the University of Delaware and economist positions at leading organizations, including Keystone Strategy. These placements reflect the quality of training our students receive and the strong demand for ACE expertise in addressing critical economic challenges. We invite you to learn more about all our recent PhD placements at https://ace.illinois.edu/academics/graduate-degrees/doctor-philosophy-agricultural-and-applied-economics/phd-placements.

Real-World Experience & Professional Growth

This summer, several of our graduate students gained invaluable real-world experience through competitive internship positions at leading organizations. Students interned at institutions including Amazon, Centrec, and Wesleyan University. These opportunities allowed our students to apply their research skills and economic expertise to pressing policy and industry challenges while building professional networks that will serve them throughout their careers. If you have internship opportunities to share with our students, please let us know by emailing ace-grad@illinois.edu

Our graduate students continue to demonstrate exceptional teaching and research capabilities. Many serve as teaching assistants and research assistants within our department. Some serve as instructors of record for courses such as ACE-199 Applied Statistics Lab and ACE 161-Computer Concepts & Applications. The multidisciplinary strength of our program is further evidenced by some of our students securing teaching assistantships across campus in departments such as Financial Engineering, showcasing the broad relevance and versatility of their training.

Our students' scholarly achievements continue to shine brightly this semester. We are especially proud to see their work published in top-tier journals in our profession, including recent publications in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics—a testament to the rigor and relevance of the research being conducted within our program.

Preparing for the Job Market

Saurav Kunwar presents a practice job market talk.

As we support our current students' professional development, we are particularly proud of the PhD candidates navigating the job market. Under the guidance of our Placement Director, Professor Sarah Janzen, students enrolled in ACE 569 receive a comprehensive suite of professional preparation activities, including mock interviews and curriculum preparation. Our candidates are also presenting their job market talks in organized internal seminars, where faculty provide valuable feedback to help strengthen their research narratives. We encourage you to learn more about our impressive job market candidates at https://ace.illinois.edu/academics/graduate-degrees/job-market-candidates.

Welcoming our Fall 2025 Grad Student Cohort

This semester, we had 10 new PhD students, 6 MS students, and 4 MAAE students joining our community. Their diverse backgrounds and research interests continue to enrich our program and strengthen our commitment to addressing critical challenges in agricultural, environmental and consumer economics.

Program Innovations & Leadership Updates

We also want to celebrate our Graduate Program Coordinator, Clint Reifsteck, who has now been in this vital role for a year. Clint has brought exceptional efficiency and innovation to our program operations. He is currently implementing a new à la carte degree audit system that will ensure our students progress smoothly toward graduation while providing much-needed flexibility to adapt their coursework to current market demands. His dedication to student success and programmatic excellence has been invaluable to our community.

We are pleased to welcome Professor Teresa Serra as our new Director of Graduate Studies. Professor Serra holds the Hieronymus Distinguished Chair and serves as Director of OFOR, and we look forward to the continued growth of our graduate program under her leadership. Finally, we want to thank Professor Nick Paulson for his service as interim Director of Graduate Studies during this transition period.

Join Us in supporting ACE Graduate Students!

We’re always looking to connect our graduate students with the incredible expertise and experience of our alumni community. Whether you’re interested in hosting an intern, participating in a professional development workshop, or sharing your career insights, your involvement can make a real difference in shaping the next generation of leaders in agricultural, environmental, and consumer economics.

Interested? Contact us!

Research/Outreach

Our faculty and students are leading innovative research, outreach, and education programs in Illinois and around the world. Faculty and student projects like these address challenges, seek solutions, and build awareness every day.

One recently published research project was Professor Marin Skidmore’s analysis of the Wetland Reserve Program (now part of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program). True to their name, wetlands really are nature's kidneys. Her findings show at scale (the entire Mississippi River Basin) that wetlands reduce nitrogen concentration in the surrounding surface water. In communities with high nitrogen concentrations, the easement cost is typically paid off within twenty years through reduced water treatment costs. This makes wetlands a cost-effective transfer from the federal government to local governments and utilities -- a great way to support local economies. Read more.

Check out a few of our recent research & outreach stories below.

Once dominant, US agricultural exports falter amid trade disputes and rising competition. Read more.

Tariffs have the potential to reshape the US beer market. Read more.

Study explores how teacher training and reading programs affect literacy in Mozambique. Read more.

Stay in the Know

Want to keep up with our research? Make sure to follow us on social media, visit our refreshed research and outreach pages, and keep an eye on ACES News to read about new and impactful research coming out of ACE!

ACE in the News Research & Outreach

Alumni News

Alumni Spotlight

When her career reached a plateau in the mid 1990’s, LeeAnn Moss knew it was time for a new challenge. Drawn by the Department of ACE’s reputation for excellence, Moss entered the PhD program in 1995 with a goal of pivoting into agribusiness consulting while strengthening her analytical and communication skills. Her passion for experiential learning contributed to her overall success, both in her PhD studies focused on agricultural finance and agribusiness management, and in her career.

During her time in ACE, Moss found that her most meaningful experiences came outside of the classroom in the form of collaborations with faculty, staff, and fellow students. These relationships blossomed into lifelong friendships, consulting opportunities, leadership roles, and mentoring relationships. Working alongside several influential faculty members such as Wes Seitz, who allowed Moss to TA for ACE 100, and Kirby Barrick, who introduced her to the “teaching academy” where she learned to create empowering learning environments, Moss discovered that her passion truly lies in teaching. The Department of ACE was fortunate to have her among our instructor ranks for over a decade, during which time she was included on the “Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent” every semester. When her son enrolled at Purdue University, Moss relocated to Indiana where a chance conversation at a football game with Agricultural Economics department head and dean of the College of Agriculture resulted in her current position as a Senior Lecturer for the unit. Teaching and mentoring undergraduate students has been a joy as she has helped students build the skills, confidence, and curiosity they need for their careers. She shares that hearing from former students that her teaching made a difference in their lives remains deeply fulfilling.

Although she is no longer teaching in ACE, LeeAnn Moss’s ties to ACE remain strong. She continues friendships and professional collaborations with faculty and staff in ACE, serves on the department’s External Advisory Committee, and supports study abroad programs through annual scholarships for Illinois and Purdue students. For those hoping to follow in her footsteps, she advises, “Stay open to every opportunity to learn and grow. Whether you’re teaching, consulting, or presenting professionally, remember that good presentation is simply a good conversation. Seek out mentors, practice often, welcome feedback, and when things don’t go perfectly – because they won’t at first – try again. Excellence comes from persistence.”

How to Engage

Stay connected like Dr. Moss! Be sure to check out our new alumni webpage to see ways that you can engage with ACE as an alum. From volunteering your time in the classroom to connecting with student organizations to attending events, there are ways for everyone. Not seeing what you’re looking for? Fill out our engagement interest form and tell us how you’d like to connect!

Giving to ACE

If you are interested in giving a financial gift to the department, the easiest way to do this is go to the ACE giving site and select the amount for the fund(s) you’d like to give to (e.g. Academic Excellence Fund, Graduate Student Travel Fund, etc.). When you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will see the total gift amount for the selected funds. Click “continue” in orange at the bottom of the page. This will bring you to the UIF giving page and your selections will auto populate at the top so that you can fill in your personal information and finalize your gift. For information or to discuss options for making a major gift, please contact the advancement office directly at 217-333-9355 or email acesadvancement@illinois.edu.

Give to ACE