Vernon L. Sorenson

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Professor Emeritus
Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics

Degrees:
Ph.D., 1953. University of Minnesota
M.S., 1948. University of Minnesota
B.S., 1948. University of Minnesota

Bio-Info

Vernon L Sorenson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University. Vernon was born in 1922, in Fillmore County, Minnesota. He graduated from Le Roy High School in 1939. After his military service in 1945, Vernon obtained a B.S. degree in Agricultural Business Administration, and Master and PhD degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Minnesota. In 1953, he joined the faculty of Michigan State University, retiring in 1990.

While at MSU, he published extensively, contributed to agricultural and trade policy formulation, and was a teacher and leader both inside and outside of the classroom. Initially focused on domestic agricultural issues, his emphasis later shifted to international teaching and research programs. In 1964-65, Vernon served in Paris, France as a Foreign Service officer of the U.S. Department of State, dealing primarily with agricultural policy conflicts among industrial nations. He was consultant to the agricultural policy division of OECD, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Sorenson and other MSU faculty and students spearheaded a major collaborative research effort to determine the potential economic impact of European unity on U.S. agricultural exports. Six research monographs were produced.

He published a major text book in 1975: International Trade Policy: Agriculture and Development which has been used widely in graduate level teaching. From 1977 to 1981 he served as Assistant Administrator for Trade Policy, Foreign Agricultural Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. He was editor, Agricultural Market Analysis, M.S.U. Bureau of Business and Economic Research, 1964. He served with the St. Paul Bank for Cooperatives as Business Analyst, 1950.

Honors: American Farm Economics Assoc. Thesis Award, 1953.

Professor Sorenson, age 88, died on May 5, 2011, in Lansing, Michigan after a brief illness, with his wife of nearly 66 years by his side.

Students

Student Mentoring

View list of advisees and respective theses/dissertations topics

Teaching Experience

Professor Sorenson was a pioneer in teaching in the marketing and international trade areas

Pubs Online

Notable Pubs/Pres

Michigan Farmer Outlook Issue. Jan, 1990. Vernon L. Sorenson article on Trade and Policy, and Photos.
Michigan Agriculture and Its Linkages to Developing Nations, Part II: A Guide for Extension Agents and Other Discussion Leaders. 1988. by Richard J. Ball and Vernon L. Sorenson. Bulletin from the Institute of International Agriculture and the Cooperative Extension Service at Michigan State University. (large download)
International Trade Policy: Agriculture and Development. 1975. by Vernon L. Sorenson. MSU International Business and Economic Studies. (large download)
Producer Marketing Organizations: Some Aspects of the European Experience. 1968. by Vernon L. Sorenson. Paper presented at North Central Regional Committee (NCR’20) Seminar “Agricultural Organization in Modern Industrial Society,” Chicago, Illinois.
Agricultural Market Analysis: Development, Performance, Process. 1964. Edited by Vernon L. Sorenson, and written by members of the faculty of the Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University. (large download)
The European Market for American Farm Products—Some Concepts and Reality. 1963. Vernon L. Sorenson. MSU Ag. Econ Paper 903. (This paper marked the beginning of Sorenson’s work with the E.U.)
MSU and Related Publication Series Which Professor Sorrenson Helped Develop at MSU Over his Tenure
- Publications on the Potential Economic Impact of European Unity on U.S. agricultural Exports. 1968. Institute of International Agriculture, Michigan State University.