Rate My Professor Joey Mehlhorn

Dr. Joey Mehlhorn is Professor of Agricultural Economics and holder of the Gilbert Parker Chair of Excellence in Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Department of Agriculture, Geosciences, and Natural Resources at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Specializing in Agricultural and Veterinary Science, his academic interests include agriculture policy issues, agricultural management and marketing issues, international agriculture, and entrepreneurship. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness economics from Tennessee Technological University, and both master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural economics from Mississippi State University. Mehlhorn joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2003 as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 2008, continuing to teach a course each semester.

Throughout his career, Mehlhorn has held key administrative appointments, including assistant director and director of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Agricultural Sciences, chair of the Department of Agriculture, Geosciences and Natural Resources, interim chair of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, and director of the Center of Excellence in Experiential Learning in the Agricultural Sciences. In 2019, he was appointed interim dean of graduate studies, becoming the permanent dean in July 2021. During his tenure, he has overseen significant increases in graduate programs, developed strong partnerships with program coordinators, improved the graduate application and review processes, and coordinated components of the strategic enrollment plan. His research output includes over 20 publications, such as “Evaluating Transition Planning by Tennessee Farmers” (2019), “Student Perceptions of the Importance of Athletic Teams in Creating Soft Skills: The Case of Rodeo” (2018), “Qualities and Attributes of Successful Veterinary School Applicants” (2017), “Perceptions of Entrepreneurship in a University Agribusiness Program: Developing a Scale” (2017), “Benchmarking Entrepreneurship Education in U.S., Australian, and New Zealand University Agriculture Programs” (2016), and “The Importance of Soft Skill Development for Veterinary Technology Graduates and Veterinary Businesses” (2015).