Bio
Dr. Ramesh B. Balayar is an Assistant Teaching Professor and an Academic Faculty Advisor for Agricultural and Rural Policy Studies. His research interest concerns smallholder farmers and rural women’s empowerment in the Global South. He has more than fifteen years of working experience in rural community development, governmental programs and policies, international non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations. Dr. Balayar has traveled to several countries around the world, including North Korea. Born and raised in a small and remote village in the Doti District of Nepal, he holds MA in Sociology from Tribhuvan University, M.Phil in Development Studies from Kathmandu University, and Ph.D. in Sociology from Iowa State University. Dr. Balayar has won the Graduate College Teaching Excellence Award for Fall 2018. He teaches Environmental Sociology; Global Poverty, Resources, Sustainable Development; Transition in Agriculture; Social Class, and Inequality and Rural Society in Transition. As an Academic Advisor, Dr. Balayar closely and enthusiastically works with students majoring in Agricultural and Rural Policy Studies and provides timely support.