EDUCATION NEWS

UC Davis honors Phaff
The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Davis, posthumously presented IFT Member Herman J. Phaff with an Award of Distinction. Phaff died in August 2001.

The award is the highest distinction presented by the college to individuals whose contributions and achievements enrich the image and reputation of the college and enhance its ability to provide public service.

Phaff joined the UC Davis Dept. of Food Science and Technology faculty in 1954. A recognized international authority on the biology of yeasts, he made contributions in both pure and applied areas, including his early studies on fruit dehydration. Two yeast genera and several yeast species were named for Phaff.

Penn State receives donation
Penn State received a $250,000 donation from Blommer Chocolate Co. to support construction of the new Food Science Building at the school’s University Park campus.

Now in the planning stage, the building will contain laboratories, classrooms, offices, pilot-scale processing facilities, and a new creamery manufacturing and sales area. The estimated cost is $22 million in combined private, state, and university funds.

The building is expected to be completed in 2005. Blommer is based in Chicago, Ill.

Woteki named ISU Dean
IFT Professional Member Catherine E. O’Connor Woteki has been named Iowa State University’s ninth Dean of Agriculture.

She is the first woman in ISU’s history appointed to this position. Woteki, began at ISU in January.

Woteki is a nutritional epidemiologist whose research focuses on food safety and nutrition policy, chronic disease prevention, and population health surveillance and monitoring. She was the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s first Under Secretary for Food Safety from 1997 through January 2001.

Prior to that, she was Senior Research Scientist with the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Professor of Nutrition and Food Safety at the University of Nebraska.

UMass presents teaching award
The University of Massachusetts’ College of Food and Natural Resources presented its Outstanding Teacher Award to Lynne McLandsborough, Associate Professor in the Dept. of Food Science.

Since joining the department in 1995, she completely revised the food microbiology courses, enhancing the content of and the tools used in the courses. She has also integrated case studies into her basic curriculum to teach problem-solving skills and communicate real-life situations to students.

An undergraduate advisor to food science students, McLandsborough’s dedication to students and teaching is exemplified by the fact that she was selected for a three-year term to serve as one of two faculty advisers to the IFT Student Association.