We are saddened to pass along the news that Emeritus Professor Emery N. Castle passed away on October 31, 2017 in Portland, Oregon.
During his six decades as an active and internationally respected scholar, Emery Castle made outstanding contributions to agricultural and resource economics. Emery possessed a rare combination of scholarship and leadership. He served as OSU’s Dean of Faculty, Dean of the Graduate School, and Chair of the Department of Agricultural Economics. Emery also led a major policy research institute, Resources for the Future (RFF), in Washington DC, serving as president of RFF from 1979-1986.
Emery welcomed invitations to put his knowledge in the service of public policy decision-making. From 1954 until he retired in 1993, five Oregon governors appointed Emery to Boards and Commissions that were focused on water resources and environmental quality. Emery chaired the National Rural Studies Committee from 1987 to 1997 and served as the inaugural Director of the OSU Rural Studies Program from 2001 to 2004. He was a fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
A memorial service will be held at 3-4:00 pm on November 11 at the First United Methodist Church in Corvallis. Afterward, a reception/celebration of Emery’s life will be held at 4:30-6:30 pm at the LaSells Stewart Center on OSU campus. Donations in Emery’s honor for the Castle Scholarships in Applied Economics can be made here.