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end an era
David CreamerThe Sowc
Olson, left, and student Alia Haack check results in the East Campus Greenhouse, where C!son teaches his soils lab.
1
hey went to college on G.I. bills. Farm boys, home from
World War II. They didn't go back to their farms. They traded rural
life for academia.
.The agriculture professors are retiring now. Some will write;
some will travel. Some may go back to the farm.
And the ag college deans are getting nervous. These professors
will be hard to replace.
In the 1980s and 1990s, hundreds of professors will retire from
U.S. agriculture colleges, T.E. Hartung, dean of the UNL College of
Agriculture, said. And there probably won't be enough newprofes
sors to take their places, he said
Twenty members of the UNL ag college faculty now are between
65 and 70 years old, Hartung said Another 30 are between 60 and
65. That means 50 professors will reach the mandatory retirement
age of 70 within the next 10 years. And many will retire younger
than that, Hartung said.
Fewer and fewer people are seeking advanced degrees in
agriculture. It was an attractive field after WW II, Hartung said,
because of an explosion, of research and technology. Students at
college on G.I. bills went for advanced degrees and took
professorships.
The number of PhD's awarded in agriculture peaked about 15
years ago, Hartung said. With a changing ag economy, more people
move away from their farms. This leaves fewer people with rural
backgrounds to enter college ag programs, he said.
Since 1975, the number of doctoral degrees has dropped 3
percent, Hariung said But the number of new ag professors has
declined even more, he said
salaries are about the same as those at peer institutions, he said,
but many dip about $4,000 below average at the associate
professor level.
The UNL ag college has a "good reputation" that attracts young
scientists, Hartung said. But UNL lacks money to keep the "rising
stars that are seen by other institutions." Many professors leave
after a few years at UNL, taking better salaries and fringe benefits
at other schools, he said.
"Nebraska has been the training ground for the Big 10 for the
last 15 years," Hartung said. UNL has "twice the turnover" of ag
professors, compared to institutions with higher salaries and
retirement and insurance benefits, he said.
V)e situation is going to get worse
before it gets better for Nebraska if
we can 't respond ami become more
n
Ten years ago, foreign students received about 10 percent of the
PhD's in agriculture, Hartung said Today, about 38 percent of the
doctoral degrees are going to foreign students, Rather than staying
to teach in U.S. colleges, most of these students return to their
nativ'e countries, he said.
Industry also lures agricultural scientists away from teaching,
Hartung said. Specialists in ag engineering, veterinary science and
agronomy often can make more money in private businesses than
they would at universities.
But agricultural educators are fa high demand, Hartung said.
The UNLag college competes with about 45 other institutions that
also are losing professors, said Darrcil Nelson, professor-and
chairman of the UNL agronomy department Lew faculty salaries
could put UNL behind its competitors, he said Average starting
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Mark DavisThe Sower
"The situation is going to get worse before it gets better for
Nebraska if we can't respond and become more competitive," he
said.
The loss of professors may lead to changes in the agricultural
program, Hartung said. At least three positions left open this year
are being held and may not be filled, he said.
The agronomy department is losing at least five faculty
members in 1985, Nelson said. He said he feels confident about
finding replacements. If new professors are not found, the
department may have to sacrifice some community service and
research projects and increase the teaching load of remaining
instructors, he said.
"We wouldn't let our teaching mission slip," he said.
Nelson said he can't start looking for new professors until
faculty members give notice of retirement. He said he has asked
some professors over 65 to stay a few extra years.
"I encourage them to consider it," he said. "But they have other
things they'd like to do."
Robert Olson, 68, is one professor who has other plans. He has
taught agronomy at UNL for 35 of the last 38 years. He will retire
Sept. 1.
Olson said he "never actually finished" his PhD. He was a soil
conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture before the
war. He decided he liked teaching as a navigation instructor for the
Navy. So after the war, he went back to school and eventually
became a professor.
The professor said he has enjoyed his years at UNL He's already
stayed on a couple more years than he planned.
"My wife has said she wants me to hang it up," he said
Olson said he won't disappear from UNL after his retirement.
He'll still be around to write some research papers. But he won't
teach anymore. He looks forward to traveling and spending time on
his acreage, growing walnut and Christmas trees.
Olson and his contemporaries have heard of the problem of
finding people to take their places.
"We hope the job will get done all right' he said. "Agriculture
has been somewhat depressed. It doesn't look so promising to
young people anymore."
Some scholars worry about the loss of 30-plus years of expertise
as the professors retire. Olson predicts a new kind of expertise will
develop.
Agriculture has changed a lot since Olson started teaching. He
has had to learn to "keep up with the equipment," like computers
and modern instruments.
"Every year, there's been something new to keep abreast of," he
said. "The youngsters now are starting out with the concepts of
modern instrumentation.
"We old-timers, yes, we've got the expertise the young folks will
be lacking for awhile," Olson said. "But those young folks will turn
out just as good or better." Ar.n Lowe
