Dr. Alan Barefield served as an Extension Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University. He has dedicated more than three decades to advancing rural economic development across Mississippi, with special emphasis on community and business growth, infrastructure planning, and health economics. Within his extensive portfolio, he has held roles such as Special Projects Coordinator and Associate Director, contributing to impactful programming across business retention, community analysis, entrepreneurship, and economic impact studies.

Dr. Barefield’s expertise has notably influenced regional policy and planning initiatives. His analytical work has examined economic resilience, such as how DeSoto County weathered the COVID-19 downturn compared to other parts of Mississippi, and assessed the far-reaching economic footprint of major assets like the Stennis Space Center on South Mississippi’s economy.

An award-winning educator, he has been recognized with the BREI Distinguished Service Award (2010) and the Master Business and Retention Professional designation (2011), and he has played a pivotal role in developing curricula for Business Retention and Expansion International.