American Association of Agricultural Education

The American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) is a United States-based professional society for scholars and practitioners in agricultural education and related social sciences. According to its official website, AAAE "connects professionals across agricultural education, communications, extension, and leadership" and works to "advance our disciplines through teaching, research, collaboration, and service while supporting the people shaping the future of agriculture and natural resources." The organization describes its vision as being "the premier national society for social science scholarship in food, agriculture and natural resources," and its mission as fostering "excellence in the discovery and exchange of evidence-based solutions for social science challenges in agriculture and related sciences." Its stated core values are inclusivity, collaboration, professionalism, impact, and innovation. AAAE serves a membership of university faculty, extension professionals, school-based agricultural educators, and graduate students. It publishes the Journal of Agricultural Education, maintains a membership directory, and produces recurring reports such as teacher supply and demand studies and salary reports. The association also issues national research value statements, Friday Footnotes, poster session materials, and standards for school-based agricultural education. It hosts an annual national conference and regional conferences across three regions: the North Central Region, the Southern Region, and the Western Region. Each region has its own leadership, awards, and business meetings. Governance is handled through a leadership team, governing documents, and a set of committees, including the Academy of Fellows, the Audit & Finance Committee, the Program Improvement Committee, the Professional Development Committee, the Member Services Committee, the Research Committee, and the Teacher Education Committee. The association recognizes achievement through a broad slate of national awards, including AAAE Fellows, Honorary Membership, Emeritus Membership, the Special Award, Outstanding Dissertation Award, Outstanding Thesis Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, Outstanding Researcher Award, Outstanding Early Career Award, and Distinguished Educator awards in agriculture, agricultural leadership, agricultural communications, extension, and international agricultural education. AAAE operates a job board, a list serv, and a submission platform for conference abstracts. Beginning with the Western Region 2026 conference, regional conference abstract submissions are made through that platform. Upcoming events listed on the site include the 2026 North Central Region Conference, scheduled for October 7, 2026, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The association's website is powered by Wild Apricot membership software, and its public web presence is at aaea.wildapricot.org, with aaaeonline.org also serving as an official address.

The American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) is a U.S. professional society whose public materials describe a mission centered on advancing agricultural education, communications, extension, and leadership through teaching, research, collaboration, and service. The association's website presents a vision of being "the premier national society for social science scholarship in food, agriculture and natural resources," and a mission to foster "excellence in the discovery and exchange of evidence-based solutions for social science challenges in agriculture and related sciences." Its core values are inclusivity, collaboration, professionalism, impact, and innovation. AAAE organizes its activities around national programming and three geographic regions: the North Central Region, the Southern Region, and the Western Region. Each region maintains its own leadership structure, awards, and business meetings, and the association hosts regional conferences in addition to a national conference. The website lists an upcoming 2026 North Central Region Conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and notes that beginning with the Western Region 2026 conference, regional conference abstract submissions are made through a submission platform. A central part of AAAE's scholarly output is the Journal of Agricultural Education, which the association lists among its publications. The association also produces teacher supply and demand studies, periodic salary reports, national research value statements, Friday Footnotes, poster session materials, and standards for school-based agricultural education. It maintains a membership directory and a job board, and it operates a list serv for members. Governance and member engagement are carried out through a leadership team, governing documents, and committees. These include the Academy of Fellows, the Audit & Finance Committee, the Program Improvement Committee, the Professional Development Committee, the Member Services Committee, the Research Committee, and the Teacher Education Committee. The Member Services Committee, for example, maintains the membership directory, oversees website postings, conducts annual supply/demand and periodic salary studies, reviews governing documents, reports annually to the membership, and supports member engagement. Committee leadership has included Laura Rice of the University of Minnesota as chair and Jay Solomonson of Illinois State University as chair-elect. AAAE recognizes professional achievement through a national awards program. Award categories listed by the association include AAAE Fellows, AAAE Honorary Membership, AAAE Emeritus Membership, the AAAE Special Award, the Outstanding Dissertation Award, the Outstanding Thesis Award, the Outstanding Teacher Award, the Outstanding Researcher Award, the Outstanding Early Career Award, the Distinguished Agriculture Teacher Educator Award, the Distinguished Agricultural Leadership Educator Award, the Distinguished Agricultural Communications Educator Award, the Distinguished Extension Educator Award, and the Distinguished International Agricultural Educator Award. The association also maintains a National Leadership Academy and a Distinguished Lectures program. The association's public web presence is hosted on Wild Apricot membership software at aaea.wildapricot.org, with aaaeonline.org also serving as an official address. AAAE's strategic plan is referenced on its site for the period 2017–2023, and the association publishes policies and procedures as well as protocol guidelines for conference paper selection, presentations, and awards.

• 2026 North Central Region Conference scheduled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on October 7, 2026.

• Beginning with the Western Region 2026 conference, regional conference abstract submissions are made through a submission platform.

• AAAE Strategic Plan referenced for the period 2017–2023.

Premier national society for social science scholarship in food, agriculture and natural resources.

• Journal of Agricultural Education

  Scholarly journal published by AAAE.

• Teacher Supply and Demand reports

  Annual studies on teacher supply and demand.

• Salary Reports

  Periodic salary studies.

• National Research Value Statements

  Statements on research values.

• Friday Footnotes

  Recurring communication.

• Standards for School-Based Agricultural Education

  Standards document.

• Membership Directory

  Directory of members.

• Job Board

  Employment listings.

1. 1American Association for Agricultural Education - Homeaaea.wildapricot.org
2. 2American Association for Agricultural Education - National Award Historyaaea.wildapricot.org
3. 3American Association for Agricultural Education - Aboutaaea.wildapricot.org
4. 4American Association for Agricultural Education - Member Servicesaaea.wildapricot.org
5. 5Wikidatawikidata.org