Donna McCallister has been named an assistant professor with Texas Tech University's Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, according to officials within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. She officially steps into her new teaching and research post on Sept. 1.

The Lamesa, Texas, native indicated that her research program broadly focuses on contributing toward the development of multidisciplinary methods to maintain the profitability of agricultural production and economic viability of rural communities in the Southern High Plains.

One of her primary goals here at Tech is to help growers identify new market opportunities under climate uncertainty. Her agribusiness research interests include contract design for risk-sharing in sustainable systems and grower/retailer partnerships to create reliable, consistent supply chains. Among the quantitative research tools she uses are simulation, optimization, meta-analysis and econometric modeling techniques.

McCallister's work with the Texas Tech-based Texas Alliance for Water Conservation project has led to involvement with research projects outside the university, in particular a multi-state/multi-institutional USDA CAP project "Sustaining Agriculture through Adaptive Management to Preserve the Ogallala Aquifer under a Changing Climate," where she is a collaborator.

The TAWC project is a multi-disciplinary partnership of agricultural producers, universities, government agencies, and industries that are addressing the issues of declining water availability in the Texas High Plains due to the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer.

Prior to taking her new position, McCallister served as a research assistant professor in Tech's Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics for four years. She also held a joint appointment with Texas A&M AgriLife Research since 2017, where she was actively involved in conducting research focused on water economics, conservation, sustainability, and production economics. She also worked as a post-doctoral research associate at Texas Tech.

McCallister's bachelor's degree in agricultural and applied economics is from Texas Tech, and her master's degree in agricultural economics is from Texas A&M University. Her doctorate in agricultural and applied economics is from Texas Tech. She is a member of the American Agricultural Economics Association, Southern Agricultural Economics Association and the Western Agricultural Economics Association.

CONTACT: Phillip Johnson, chairman and director of the university's Thornton Agricultural Finance Institute, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-0474 or phil.johnson@ttu.edu

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