Bio
Dr. Ramesh B. Balayar is an Associate Teaching Professor and an Academic Faculty Advisor for the Agricultural and Rural Policy Studies undergraduate major. He teaches Environmental Sociology; Global Poverty, Resources and Sustainable Development; Applied Ethics in Agriculture; Social Class and Inequality and Rural Society in Transition. As an Academic Faculty Advisor, Dr. Balayar provides crucial academic and professional planning guidance to students majoring in Agricultural and Rural Policy Studies. Dr. Balayar also serves as one of the Coordinators for Agricultural Community Encourages Success (ACES) and co-leads study abroad programs in Nepal. His primary research interest concerns smallholder farmers and rural women’s empowerment in the Global South. Dr. Balayar has over fifteen years of working experience in rural community development, governmental programs and policies, international non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations. He holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, a Master of Philosophy in Development Studies from Kathmandu University, Nepal, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Iowa State University, the United States. Dr. Balayar has won the Graduate College Teaching Excellence Award for Fall 2018, the 2023 Early Advisor Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Emory Bogardus Teaching Excellence Award 2023.