Sydney Carter James

Background

Sydney Carter James was born on the 16th of March, 1928 in Ogden, Utah, United States. He is the son of Fenis William, a cattle rancher, and Vera Arnetta Carter James, a homemaker. He was raised on a cattle ranch in northwestern Utah.

Education

Sydney Carter learned the mechanics of farming and the care of livestock in northwestern Utah. Obtaining an education was not easy since the family's ranch was twenty miles from grade school. When it was time for high school, the distance increased by 100 miles. Thus, he lived away from home most of the time during the school year.

After graduating from Box Elder High School in Brigham City, Utah, in 1946, Sydney entered college at Utah State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Education in 1953. Three years later, he re-entered college at Utah State University, graduating in 1957 with a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Education. Then, he attended Oregon State University, where he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1961.

Career

At the beginning of his career, James spent two years in service to his church as a missionary. As part of his training, he joined the United States Air Force ROTC program in 1954 and became a second lieutenant in the reserve, with a commitment of active duty for two years. After a year of teaching, he entered active military duty as a material facilities officer.

In 1961, James took his first job at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces as a production economist and assistant professor, the posts he held until 1963. Later, an opportunity came to join the economics faculty at Iowa State University in Ames, a leading institution in agriculture, where he served as an assistant professor at first and subsequently he worked there as a professor from 1963 to 1983. Then, Sydney James accepted the post of a professor at Brigham Young University in Provo, where he worked for ten years before his retirement in 1993. Presently, he is an Emeritus Professor of the Department of Economics at Brigham Young University.

As the author, Sydney Carter James wrote Midwest Farm Planning Manual in 1965, Farm Accounting and Business Analysis in 1974, Economic and Business Principles in Farm Planning and Production in 2000.

Achievements

• Sydney Carter James is an outstanding educator, priest, as well as an author of books. He was listed as a noteworthy agricultural economics educator by Marquis Who's Who.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Economic and Business Principles in Farm Planning and Production

    (Covers the breadth and depth of farm management, utilizin...)

    2000
  • Farm Accounting and Business Analysis 1974
  • Midwest Farm Planning Manual 1965

Religion

Doctor James served a mission to Adam-Ondi-Amman from 1994 to 1996 and to Vietnam and Laos from 1999 to 2001.

Views

Sydney James belives that Faith in God is more than a theoretical belief in Him. He says that to have faith in God is to trust Him, to have confidence in Him, and to be willing to act on belief in Him. In his opinion, it is a principle of action and power.

Quotations: "My professional interests were always in applied science. I wanted to be of service to those actual fanning. I also wanted to be a good teacher and continually looked for applied material to use. My books are all of this nature. They grew out of my teaching experiences. Many of my associations were in the related areas of agronomy, animal science, and agricultural engineering. I drew heavily from these disciplines. My purposes were to enhance teaching and improve farm production efficiency."

Membership

Sydney James is a member of the American Agricultural Economics Association, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, Phi Kappa Phi, and Gamma Sigma Delta.

• secretary-treasurer

  American Agricultural Economics Association , United States

  1980 - 1984

• vice president of Utah chapter

  American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers , United States

  1986

Interests

• church and youth programs, handiwork

• Sport & Clubs

  fitness

Connections

Sydney Carter James was married to Dawn Gardiner, who passed away in 2004. Their marriage produced five children - Susan James Holman, Clair F., Cheryl James Taylor, Leann James Hunter and Jennifer James Spell.

Father:

Fenis William James

Mother:

Vera Arnetta Carter James

late wife:

Dawn Gardiner

Daughter:

Susan James Holman

Daughter:

Cheryl James Taylor

Daughter:

Leann James Hunter

Daughter:

Jennifer James Spell

Son:

Clair F. James