Rulon D. Pope was born and reared in Emmett, Idaho. He received a BS degree from Brigham Young University and a PhD from University of California, Berkeley, joining the faculty at BYU in 1982, preceded by positions at Texas A&M University and the University of California, Davis.
Dr. Pope, professor of economics, is an outstanding scholar, teacher, and colleague. His research has been published broadly in the most respected journals of economics, and his theoretical and empirical work on how uncertainty influences decisions, especially in agriculture, has had a profound effect in the economics profession. On at least six different occasions the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) has singled out his research for awards for its enduring quality and impact. Rulon was appointed Fellow of the AAEA in 1996, and he gave the Fellow’s Lecture to the association in 2009. He has also served as president of the Western Agricultural Economics Association.
At BYU, Dr. Pope has been a department chair of economics and served as associate dean of the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences. He is a challenging and versatile teacher who is well known and respected by his colleagues at BYU and in his field. He is a true example of what it means to be a teacher-scholar.
He is married to Sue Davis Pope, and they are parents of six children.
