A professor emeritus in our department and environmental economist for over 30 years, Dr. Clyde Kiker was a mentor, a colleague, and above all, a friend to all those who were lucky enough to cross his path during his long tenure in the Food and Resource Economics Department.
Sadly, Dr. Kiker passed away in August 2024, but we will always remember the profound impact he has had on the Food and Resource Economics Departments faculty, staff, and students.
A Triple Gator & Pioneer in His Field
Dr. Kiker was a Gator through and through, earning all three of his degrees from the University of Florida: a BS and MS in Agricultural Engineering followed by a PhD in Systems Engineering and Food & Resource Economics.
After graduating, he joined our department where he would rise to Professor status, spending 33 years in service to advancing the field of Environmental Policy & Resource Economics until his retirement in 2007.
With his engineering background lending itself readily to a "systems approach" in addressing natural resource and environmental issues, he became a core part of the department's Natural Resources and Environmental Economics workgroup, leading the research and extension efforts in this area alongside Drs. Gary Lynne and Roy Carriker.
A true academic, he was always eager to be involved in debate and discussions to move the field forward.
"One thing was certain- Clyde was fine with a 10-minute debate, but he was willing to debate much longer if required!" - Dr. Rodney Clouser, UF FRED Professor Emeritus.
As our natural resource-focused faculty group expanded, Dr. Kiker was amongst the first to welcome in new junior faculty to the fold, eagerly engaging them in academic endeavors. Dr. Sherry Larkin, who joined the department in 2000, fondly recalls her morning chats with Dr. Kiker, where he would encourage her to keep her eye on the bigger picture and pursue transformational topics in her research.
He pushed me to see the value of, and pursue working on, multidisciplinary teams. I enjoyed and appreciated our friendship and his mentorship within FRED. He not only touched lives but by his very nature, nudged us all to work on the bigger system and for that I’m grateful to have been able to have him as a colleague at UF. - Dr. Sherry Larkin, Florida Sea Grant Director and Professor of Food and Resource Economics
Even for those outside of his area of expertise, Kiker was always a jovial colleague, making the department a more welcoming place for all.
Even though we worked at different physical locations and in different aspects of agriculture economics, Clyde was always willing to listen and share his insight. He was one of the people who made UF FRE a welcoming department for me as a new faculty member. - Dr. Suzanne Thornsbury, Professor of Food and Resource Economics
Mentor to his Students & Champion of the Graduate Program
Before his retirement, Dr. Kiker saw many students successfully through their graduate degree programs, serving as the chair for 66 doctoral and master's degree students, and serving as a member or external committee member for many more.
Even for grad students who were not under his advisement directly, Dr. Kiker served as a staunch supporter. Whether it was through advocating for appropriate graduate student pay, or seeking to get students engaged in rigorous research projects, or even encouraging the cross pollination of Food and Resource Economics and Ag. & Biological Engineering students across courses in both disciplines, Kiker was passionate in his endeavors to ensure all students who crossed his path got the most out of their time at UF.
"Clyde was a Champion of all things related to the FRE grad student program." - Dr. Rodney Clouser, UF FRED Professor Emeritus
Dr. Andy Seidl, graduated from UF FRED with his MS 1993 and his Ph.D. 1996. Now he serves as a Professor and Nutrien Distinguished Scholar of Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University and Senior Technical Advisor for the United Nations Development Programme, Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). Seidl fondly remembers his six years in the department working under Dr. Kiker, and the wisdom imparted, and friendship shared.
"Clyde Kiker was my major professor from 1990-96. For much of that time, “my” office was in the ante-room entrance to Clyde’s. So, we chatted almost every day, quite possibly a bit too much for expeditious completion of my degrees, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was in ‘our’ office that I was introduced to H.T. Odum, Bob Costanza, and two of Clyde and Suzanne’s sons, Greg and Jason, of whom he was immensely proud.
Whether holding court in his office, their welcoming home, or Friday afternoons at the Market Street Pub, Clyde was full of good humor, a sense of adventure, and never shied away from a good argument. A twinkle in his eye, he was deeply and infectiously curious about how stuff worked and how we might make it work better. From emergy and fuzzy sets to Aldo Leopold and Kenneth Boulding, no idea was too farfetched, and no crazy theory would be discarded without full interrogation.
Clyde was pivotal in helping me to secure my first post-Ph.D. professional position. I had been looking at the academic route (Arizona, Oregon State, Washington State), which had always been my plan. He encouraged me, as he often did, to think a bit more broadly about the possibilities of having a lasting impact on people and nature. When an opportunity to work at a remote Brazilian agricultural research station (EMBRAPA-Pantanal) came through his network, he didn’t have to think too long or hard. After two eventful and rewarding years in Corumba, known to Brazilians as the hot place with the snakes, jaguars, and piranhas, we returned to raise our family in Fort Collins, but with deep bonds to the Pantanal and to Brazil that will never be broken.
Clyde’s unyielding passion for the environment and boundless curiosity are his legacy I continue to impart to my students and what I will miss the most about a great guy I was so very fortunate to have known."
To view Dr. Kiker's obituary in the Gainesville Sun and leave your own words of remembrance, please visit the link below.
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