Huffman, Roy E. (Roy Elwood)

Roy E. Huffman was born April 12, 1916 and raised on a wheat farm in Chouteau County, Montana. He attended rural schools and graduated from Highwood High School in 1932. He married Menga Herzog in 1939 and had three children. He received his B.S. in Agricultural Economics from Montana State College in 1938, his M.S. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Maryland in 1939 and his PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1952. He began his career as an Agricultural Economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture during 1939-1942. In 1942 he started his work at Montana State College as an Instructor in Agricultural Economics. After serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II from 1943-1946 he returned to Montana State College as an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics and Economics,1946-1950; Associate Professor from 1950-1953; and from 1953 to 1958 he was Professor and Head of the Department of Agricultural Economic and Rural Sociology: Economics and Sociology. In 1958 he became the Dean of Agriculture and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1965 he was appointed as the first Vice President for Research. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1976. Concurrent with the Vice Presidency he was Executive Director, Endowment and Research Foundation (1965-1976); Director, Montana University Joint Water Resources Research Center (1965-1969, 1973-1974); and Acting Dean of Graduate Studies (1975-1976). Roy Huffman was a prolific writer with over 100 titles to his credit including the book Irrigation Development and Public Water Policy (Ronald Press, 1953) and research bulletins, journal papers, magazine articles, conference papers and monographs. He promoted the modernization of agriculture through wise land use, water conservation, irrigation and farm management techniques. He was a member of the American Agricultural Economics Assn., Western Agricultural Economics Assn., Agricultural History Society, American Association of University Professors, Soil Conservation Society of America, and several honor societies. Among many awards, he received the Montana State University Blue and Gold Award for Distinguished Service in 1975. Outside the university he has served as a consultant to federal, state and private agencies, notably the Missouri River Basin Planning and Columbia Basin Consulting Boards of the U.S. Dept. of Interior; he was a member of numerous governmental and professional councils and committees including the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; and participated as a speaker or presenter of papers at many conferences and proceedings in both academic and commercial arenas. After his retirement in 1976, he was appointed a member of the Montana Board of Natural Resources and Conservation by Governor Thomas L. Judge and served from 1977-1981. An active member of the greater community, he promoted tours of Russia and China for People to People, was active with the Museum of the Rockies and local civic projects. Dr. Roy E. Huffman died at age 78 on November 10, 1994.

From the guide to the Roy E. Huffman Papers, 1923-1990, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)

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