J.T. (James Thomas) Scott was born February 22, 1926 in North Little Rock, Arkansas. He received a B.A. (1949) from Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, an M.B.A. from the University of Arkansas (1952), and a Ph.D. (1957) in economics from Iowa State University.



Dr. Scott joined the Iowa State University faculty as an instructor (1955-1957) in the Department of Economics and Sociology. He was promoted to assistant professor (1957-1960), associate professor (1960-1963), and full professor (1963-1993).



Dr. Scott helped begin Iowa State’s agricultural business curriculum and assisted with its growth through providing teaching and advising services. Dr. Scott served as chief of party for the Iowa-Peru Mission, an overseas contract that ran for more than two decades. He provided guidance for the College of Agriculture’s International Programs as coordinator, assistant dean, and associate dean for international programs (1973-1989). In 1977, Dr. Scott also implemented International Agriculture as a secondary major and served for 12 years as an advisor for students in that major. In 1993, he was granted the distinction Professor of Economics Emeritus.



Dr. Scott’s areas of research focused on grain marketing and cooperative accounting systems, though he also contributed in the areas of minimum cost programming of grain transport flows, minimum cost of feed manufacture, transportation, and bargaining in agriculture as well as international agriculture.



Dr. Scott served in many professional organizations such as the Association of United States University Directors of International Agricultural Programs, the Commission on International Agricultural Programs, the National Agricultural Association for Directors of International Agricultural Programs. In addition to those activities, he helped found the MidAmerica International Agricultural Consortium (MIAC) and serving as a board member and the organization’s treasurer, he worked to make it a significant international force for carrying out foreign assistance programs.



J.T. Scott passed away April 10, 2003.