Paul Goeringer, Principal Faculty Specialist with the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics and Extension Legal Specialist received the Provost’s Excellence Award for Professional Track Faculty at the university’s annual convocation ceremony on September 18, 2024. This award honors “consistently excellent contributions from full-time faculty who have served for at least five years and do not have nor are eligible for tenure.” Goeringer was recognized for his comprehensive service to the state of Maryland through his legal expertise, programming innovation, and government agency guidance.
Goeringer works directly with farmers and policymakers to help them understand the legal implications of critical statewide issues like estate planning, right-to-farm provisions, solar energy, pesticide litigation and bankruptcy, hemp production and many more. Raised on a farm in Oklahoma, his background and perspective have positioned him well to advise and work with Maryland’s agricultural community. He is also a celebrated teacher, adviser for the UMD agricultural fraternity Alpha Gamma Rho, and is committed to DEI with a goal to increase the number of underrepresented students pursuing a graduate degree. He’s also an active blogger and media personality – which furthers his reach out into the state – curating the Maryland Risk Management Education blog and podcast.
“Paul’s ability to determine stakeholders’ needs and provide the service needed to address these needs and challenges has been outstanding,” says Professor Loretta Lynch, past chair of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. “He has contributed immensely to the university’s service mission.”
Across his many accomplishments, Goeringer emphasizes three standout projects where he feels he’s made a real difference. He helped move MPower’s Agricultural Law Education Initiative to an Extension Outreach program which increased its impact on the state. He cites his adeptness in adapting to constituencies’ needs, realizing that when an issue pops up, it might deserve immediacy to assist farmers in understanding. He feels a lot of this is driven by his deep relationships with state agencies to help producers move through regulatory red tape.
“The final one would be my recent work on legal issues related to renewable energy development, and the associated work I’ve done in gaining trust in the ag community,” explained Goeringer. “This topic has divided many ag groups and landowners but we’ve been able to talk and better understand the issue, ultimately developing a robust program that includes many colleagues across the college that bring in other areas of expertise.”
Goeringer holds both a B.S. and M.S. in agricultural economics as well as a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma and an LLM from the University of Arkansas.
Please join us in congratulating Paul for this prestigious recognition.
