Penny Diebel

Penny is currently teaching and conducting research for the Applied Economics Department and serving as the Director of the OSU Agriculture Program in La Grande. She recently returned to the Applied Economics Department, after serving as the Assistant Dean of Academic Programs for the College of Agricultural Sciences 2013-2020. Penny joined the Corvallis campus in September of 2010 after 15 years working for OSU in the OSU Agriculture Program at EOU in La Grande, OR. She has a strong commitment to students and teaching. She has served as advisor and mentor for many students and student clubs, and received several teaching awards.  Dr. Diebel ’s research program includes studies on agricultural conservation policy, no-till/direct seed adoption and teaching methods.

Penny was born in central Kansas but was raised in Colorado. She worked for the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Parks and Recreation Department after high school and during her early collegiate years. She studied at Colorado State University, receiving a B.S. in Outdoor Recreation Management and later a M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics.  Penny and her husband moved to Virginia to attend Virginia Tech, where she received her PhD in Agricultural Economics.

Penny and her family, husband Dr. Ken Diebel enjoy working on their small acreage where they house a mixture of horses, dogs, and cats. They camp and hike in their spare time. They have two grown children.