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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 48 - Friday September 12, 2003 |
Dr Edmund Tavernier: Leader in Agricultural Policy Research
Edmund M. Tavernier has been in the classroom for most of his life. Currently an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at Rutgers University where he teaches a course in International Trade Policy, Dr. Tavernier previously taught at the St. Luke�s Primary School in Pointe Michel, and the Dominica Grammar School in Roseau.
Dr. Tavernier�s journey into education began in Pointe Michel where he attended the St. Luke�s Primary School and later the St. Mary�s Academy. Upon completing his secondary education he accepted a teaching position at St. Luke�s Primary School where he taught for four years before pursuing an associate degree in agricultural science at the Guyana School of Agriculture.
He returned to Dominica, and taught at the Dominica Grammar School before pursuing further studies at Tuskegee University, Alabama and the University of Minnesota where he completed Master�s and Ph.D. degrees in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
 At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Tavernier concentrated on Agricultural Trade Policy and Regional Development, areas which are of tremendous importance to the Dominica in particular and the Caribbean in general.
Dr. Tavernier�s tenure at Rutgers University has been marked by several successes. He has received awards for Excellence in Research and Outreach. He has collaborated in research grants of over $1.2 million that address issues ranging from labor policy to land use policy in New Jersey and the U.S.
He has reviewed research proposals for different departments of the United States Department of Agriculture such as the Division of Markets and Trade and the Small Business Innovative Research. He advises undergraduate and graduate students and has mentored post-doctoral students and in-coming assistant and untenured associate professors.
Dr. Tavernier is well-respected by his peers and has been invited to present papers at national and international professional conferences. The presentations are often based on published peer reviewed research published in professional journals.
While Dr. Tavernier�s research interests have understandably focused on areas in the U.S., he has addressed issues of importance to the Caribbean and Latin America. His contributions include: �Contribution of Regional Trading Arrangements to Economic Convergence,� a paper presented at the 24th West Indies Agricultural Economics Conference, Rex Grenadian Resort, Grenada, July 9 -13, 2002; �Implications of Globalization for the Developing Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean,� paper presented at the RDF-Symposium, The Role of the Diaspora in Dominica�s Development, Marriott Marquis Hotel, NYC, New York, December 8, 2001; and �Globalization and Economic Instability in Latin America and the Caribbean, � a paper presented at the First Annual International Conference of the Global Studies Institute, The Caribbean and Latin America in the 21st Century: Problems and Solutions, Lincoln University, PA, March 21-24, 2001. Dr. Tavernier has also presented papers addressing Caribbean issues in Antigua, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.
In addition to his research interests, Dr. Tavernier is also assisting the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago as an External Examiner. In that capacity he assists in grading graduate scripts for the Department of Agricultural Economics and makes recommendations for improving the program. Dr. Tavernier hopes to return to Dominica and utilize his expertise to assist in the development of the island.
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