Meet the dean
An interview with Adesoji Adelaja
Archived article from Sep 23, 2002
At a glance
Adesoji O. Adelaja
Dean, Cook College
Education: Bachelor's degree in agricultural mechanization, Pennsylvania State University; master's degrees in agricultural economics and in economics, West Virginia University; Ph.D. in economics, West Virginia University
Previous position: Dean of research at Cook College and director of research at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
Accomplishments: Founder of the Food Policy Institute (FPI) and the Food Industry Research and Extension Center (FIRE). Served as chair of the department of agricultural, food and resource economics from 1996 to 1999
Last April, Adesoji Adelaja was named executive dean of agriculture and natural resources, executive director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) and dean of Cook College. Focus talked to him this summer about his career and his plans for these units.
Focus: What was the defining moment of your career?
Adelaja: The day I realized that great things are not accomplished urgently, but are the results of strategic thinking, planning, unusual approaches and consistent hard work. This occurred in my first year at Rutgers as an assistant professor. Since then, as often as I can, I try to think about important issues that others would normally not concern themselves with. More importantly, I seek not only to invent solutions, but also to act on them before they appear on the radar screens of others. Also, I try to evaluate the impacts of my work even before I embark on a new initiative.
This has made a difference in my career. The realization led me toward unusual but challenging areas of economic and policy research and outreach. It also led me toward thinking about such issues as institutional capacity building and long-term institutional sustainability.
Focus: How does your background as an economist figure into the task of being a college administrator?
Adelaja: Well, an advantage to being an economist is that I am trained to understand the relationships between incentives/rewards, behavior and the creation of valuable outcomes both at the individual and organizational levels. Being further trained as an econometrician and modeler, I can easily grasp complex relationships and structures, and conceptualize simple solutions. When you are responsible for a statewide program that includes 21 county extension offices, about 10 outlying research centers and stations, about 15 academic departments and some 15 on-campus centers, it is important to see how all of them fit together and how to motivate such diverse programs. Of course, being good at numbers, as most economists are, is helpful to any administrator.
Focus: What is the role of an executive dean of agriculture and natural resources in such an urbanized state as New Jersey?
Adelaja: The role of the executive dean is unique. On the one hand, like every other college dean, I have the responsibility of providing leadership in the creation and delivery of high-value teaching and of academic and scientific research programs. On the other hand, as the dean of the land grant component of Rutgers, I have the added responsibility of ensuring that our programs deliver maximum impacts on the citizens and businesses of New Jersey, especially those with limited resources and opportunities, which the NJAES and Rutgers Cooperative Extension were legislated to serve.
As the most urbanized state in the nation, New Jersey is confronted with important challenges in the areas of agriculture and food, natural resources and the environment, and human and community development. These are the thrust areas of Cook/NJAES, and they represent important areas of long-term need for research and outreach in our state. Decisions the executive dean makes on a day-to-day basis impact directly on citizens across New Jersey and on the future quality of life in our state.
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