IFT NEWS
Annual Meeting will feature employment, career development programs
IFT will offer three employment and career development programs during the Annual Meeting and Food Expo at the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La., June 23-27. The programs include the IFT Employment Bureau, the 2001 IFT Annual Meeting Career Fair, and a Special Event called “Empowering Your Career—Strategies for Success.”
The Employment Bureau is designed to bring employers and job seekers together for interviews. It will be open each day during the Annual Meeting. IFT members seeking positions and employers with job opportunities are encouraged to participate. Fees for candidates are $50 for members and $35 for student members. Fees for interviewing employers are $100 for academic, nonprofit,or government organizations, $200 for food companies, and $325 for recruitment agencies.
Private curtained booths will be available to conduct interviews on-site. Booth rental rates are $75 for one day, $125 for two days, and $150 for three days or longer.
Early registration (by May 18) is strongly encouraged to get the maximum benefits of the bureau. To receive registration forms call IFT e-XPRESS at 800-234-0270 (650-556-9176 outside the U.S. or Canada). If you are a job seeker, ask for Document 2370. If you are an employer, ask for Document 2375. Forms can also be obtained through IFT’s Web site under “Annual Meeting Employment Bureau” at www.ift.org/careers.
The Career Fair is designed to provide a way for companies to disseminate information to students or members not currently in the job market. Cosponsored by the IFT Student Association and the IFT Employment Committee, the Career Fair will be held on June 23 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
The Career Fair will be a service for employers, students, and IFT members. Companies are encouraged to pass out literature and discuss their companies, opportunities typically available, and internship possibilities. Formal interviews will not take place at the career fair. Companies and individuals wishing to interview must be registered for the Employment Bureau.
The Career Fair is free to individual members and students. Companies interested in participating must pay $200 to cover meeting room and set up costs. For more information, contact Robyn Reynolds, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, 2100 S. Anthony Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824. (Phone 517-353-9737, e-mail [email protected]). Details and company reservation forms for the Career Fair can also be obtained via fax by calling call IFT e-XPRESS at 800-234-0270 (650-556-9176 outside the U.S. or Canada) and ask for Document 2320. Link to the Career Fair at www.ift.org/iftsa.
The Special Event: “Empowering Your Career—Strategies for Success” will be held Sunday, June 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Sponsored by the IFT Committee on Employment, this three-hour event will focus on developing careers in a variety of arenas, including industry, academic, and government.
Participants will hear about changes in the food industry that affect their careers; learn how to attain and maintain job growth; discover ways to increase their value to their companies; find out what makes a candidate attractive to employers seeking to hire; find out what options are available to recent graduates looking for their first jobs; and learn what options are available to remain active participants in the food industry after retirement.
The keynote speaker at the Special Event will be Joan Lloyd, a workplace and career expert and national columnist on workplace issues. Targeted breakout sessions will immediately follow her presentation. This is an interactive seminar; questions will be taken from the audience at the end of each segment.
Reservations are required. For details and forms call IFT e-XPRESS at 800-234-0270 (use 650-556-9176 outside the U.S. or Canada) and request Document 3230. Forms can also be obtained through IFT’s Web site under “Annual Meeting Employment Bureau” at www.ift.org/careers.
Schmidl speaks to Egyptian food processing industry
IFT President Mary K. Schmidl was one of two keynote speakers at the Market Outlook Conference in Egypt last November.
The conference was sponsored by the Agricultural Led Export Business project, which is funded by USAID. The purpose of the project is to improve exports of processed foods from Egypt by assisting the industry in upgrading its technical and marketing programs.
Schmidl spoke to an estimated 250 attendees on the topic of “Trends and Directions in the Food Industry.” Her presentation was followed by lively discussion on issues such as biotechnology and medicinal foods.
IFT REGIONAL SECTION & DIVISION NEWS
Mid-South
The Mid-South Section announced the winners of its 2000-01 Scholarship Awards.
Susan Key, Lydia White, and Lisa White, all of the University of Tennessee Dept. of Food Science and Technology, will each receive $2,000.
Eastern Food Science Conference call for abstracts
The May 1 deadline is fast approaching for submitting research paper abstracts and student poster presentation abstracts for the Eastern Food Science Conference.
The event, which takes place October 21-23 in Baltimore, Ma., is a major IFT Regional Conference. The Regional Conferences are for the benefit of IFT members who are unable to attend the Annual Meeting and Food Expo because of time or distance constraints. Those members will have the opportunity to present and discuss the latest information on food technology.
This will be the 12th biannual conference presented by the East Coast Regional Sections and Subsections of IFT. The program includes a college bowl, a mixer for new registrants, a keynote address, plenary sessions on technical subjects, work-shops, new product sessions and displays, a banquet, concurrent symposia and technical sessions, and a student poster competition. All events will take place at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn in Baltimore, Ma.
Anyone wishing to submit a research paper abstract or a student poster presentation abstract should send them to Dr Charles I. Onwulata, USDA-ARSERRC, 600 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038, by May 1. For more information, call 215-233-6497.
by SARA LANGEN KAROTTKI
Assistant Editor