CFAES Connect: October 2016

  1. Last Chance to Nominate an Alum for the 2017 CFAES Alumni Awards!

    Nominate an Alum for the 2017 CFAES Alumni Awards!

    Do you have an individual in mind who has made significant contributions to the food and agricultural industries, environmental science or the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences? What better way to honor those contributions than to nominate them for the CFAES Alumni Awards. There are four different award categories given each year that recognize both alumni and non-alumni for making a significant difference in our college or industry through their support, research, talents or leadership. Nominations are due November 7, 2016. The categories are listed below:

    • Meritorious Award: The purpose of the Meritorious Service Award is to give public recognition to non-alumni and/or alumni of the college who have been singularly significant in the college’s quest for excellence.
    • Distinguished Alumni Award: The Distinguished Alumni Award gives public recognition to those who have brought distinction to themselves and the college at large through their participation, commitment, and leadership.
    • International Alumni Award: The International Alumni Award is presented to outstanding international agriculture alumni representing, supporting, and promoting the college and The Ohio State University around the globe.
    • Young Professional Achievement Award: The Young Professional Achievement Award recognizes alumni for their early professional accomplishments. This award provides recognition for these individuals and serves as a stimulus toward further efforts by younger alumni.

    Individuals who have received an award in one alumni award category are not eligible to receive the same award. Click here to see a list past recipients. To nominate an individual, please complete the application here.  If you would like to nominate an alum for a 2017 CFAES Alumni Award, please download this form or contact Jody Poth at poth.20@osu.edu.

    Nominations for the 2017 awards will be accepted through November 7, 2016.

  2. Two alumni recognized in list of outstanding under-40 businesspeople

    Arnold, left, and Stickle

    Congratulations to Nathan Arnold and Jack Stickle on their being named to the Newark Advocate’s “20 under 40” list for 2016 in Newark, Ohio. Both are alumni of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences in the Department of Agricultural Education.

    "Being named 20 Under 40 by the Newark Advocate is a true honor,” said Arnold (BS 2009), of Granville, Ohio, who is marketing manager at Velvet Ice Cream Company.

    Earlier this year, he was named Young Professional of the Year by the Licking County Chamber of Commerce.

    “The education I received at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences provided me not only technical knowledge, but leadership and other traits that have made an impact on my career,” Arnold said. “I continually reflect on my time in CFAES and utilize the network of resources it has provided me."

    Stickle (BS 2005), of Newark, is owner-president of Henderson-Van Atta Stickle Funeral and Cremation Service. His community service roles include board member on the Newark Rotary Club, foundation council member for Farmhouse Fraternity Alumni Association, Ohio State chapter, and member of the Licking Memorial Hospital development council.

    Read more here.

  3. Hall Receives Excellence in Ag Law Award

    Hall Receives Excellence in Ag Law Award

    The American Agricultural Law Association (AALA) has honored Peggy Kirk Hall with its Excellence in Agricultural Law Award for Academia during the annual symposium in Oklahoma City on October 6 through 8.  The award recognizes AALA members for outstanding contributions to the legal profession and the agricultural community.  

    “Peggy has been a long time member of AALA, serving in a variety of ways, including President, presenter, moderator, committee member and in almost every capacity that AALA has called upon her for service,” said Beth Crocker, President of the AALA.  “Peggy encourages thoughtful discussion no matter which group she is working with and clearly demonstrates her ongoing commitment to the agriculture community and legal profession based upon the amount of time and energy she puts into all of her activities.”

    Hall currently serves as an Assistant Professor teaching agribusiness law in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University.  She is a Field Specialist in the OSU Extension Agricultural & Resource Law Program conducting research and outreach on legal issues affecting agriculture, rural land use and resource development.  Hall also partners with the National Agricultural & Food Law Consortium, a four-university partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library, designed to enhance and expand the delivery of objective agricultural and food law research and information to the nation's agricultural community.   

    Hall is a graduate of Ohio State University (B.S., M.S., Natural Resource Policy), and completed her Juris Doctorate degree from Wyoming College of Law focusing on agricultural and natural resource law.   Hall is a faculty Senator in OSU’s University Senate, has served as President of the AALA, Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Agricultural Law Committee and is on the Advisory Board for the National Agricultural Law Center. Hall and her family live in central Ohio where they own and operate a grain farm in Union County.

    The American Agricultural Law Association is a national membership association of agricultural law professionals from across the United States focusing on the legal needs of the agricultural community.   Excellence in Agricultural Law Awards were also presented to Mike Traxinger of South Dakota, and David LeBas of Texas.

     

  4. Meet the New Parker Dairy Chair

    Rafael Jimenez-Flores

    The erosion of milk’s reputation as a healthy food choice is the biggest issue facing the nation’s dairy industry, said the new dairy chair for The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

    “We could survive longer on milk without food, without water, without pizza, than you can survive on anything else,” said Rafael Jimenez-Flores, who joined the college as the J.T. 'Stubby' Parker Endowed Chair in Dairy Foods earlier this year.

    He has made it his mission to demonstrate scientifically the nutritional benefits of milk in the face of “fear mongering” that may have led to some public misconceptions that it is not good for you. “It is unethical to use fear for profit when we are trying to feed the world,” he said.

    Calling milk “the only food that has evolved with us,” Jimenez-Flores points out that the lactose in milk favors positive gut bacteria, which aid digestion.

    Provide support here to the FST Dairy Research Fund, which helps fund equipment, supplies, travel expenses and may include payroll for undergraduate and graduate researchers.

    In addition, the milk fat globule membrane has been shown to help prevent obesity and cancer as well as to enhance brain development, Jimenez-Flores said.

    Ohio’s dairy industry has a strong reputation for processing in a manner that allows waste to be used as raw materials, adding value to dairy by-products, he said.

    Among his current research initiatives is an examination of the “fresh milk” concept in Australia, where unpasteurized milk is being sold to consumers. Rather than using heat to kill harmful bacteria, the process requires a high-pressure treatment, Jimenez-Flores said. He is working on a proposal to investigate high-pressure homogenization as well.

    Read more here.

  5. Student enrollment exceeds 4,000

    Student enrollment exceeds 4,000

    Enrollment in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences is holding steady, with 4,150 students for fall semester 2016.

    That number includes undergraduate and graduate students in the college, School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR), Agricultural Technical Institute and regional campuses, and comes from the university's official 15th day enrollment data. When compared with 2015:

    • Agriculture enrollment decreased by 15 students, or 0.8 percent
    • SENR enrollment increased by 38 students or 5.8 percent
    • ATI enrollment declined by 3.9 percent, from 751 to 722
    • Minority enrollment in agriculture dropped by 10.4 percent, from 193 to 173 students
    • Minority enrollment in SENR increased by 16.4 percent from 67 to 78 students
    • The number of new first year students enrolled directly in agricultue on the Columbus campus increased 6.5 percent, from 169 to 180 students
    • The number of new first year students enrolled directly in SENR increased 47.9 percent from 48 to 71 students

     

  6. Scholarship winner attends Women in Ag summit

    Scholarship winner attends Women in Ag summit

    A student from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences was the first Ohio State student to apply and be awarded a scholarship for the Women in Agribusiness Summit. In the photo are Sandra Velleman, professor of animal sciences based on the Wooster campus, and Alison Pullin, animal sciences major. Her scholarship was sponsored by Novus International. The event took place in Chicago this September and included a tour of the Chicago Board of Trade and sessions ranging from "The race for the White House and What it Means for Agriculture" to "Strategies for Sustainability Across the Food Chain."

  7. Ohio State ranks 25th in list of world's most innovative universities

    Ohio State ranks 25th in list of world's most innovative universities

    According to a Thomson Reuter's study, The Ohio State University ranks 25th worldwide in innovation. The rankings are based on the universities’ published research, as well as on the quantity, impact and reach of their patenting activity. "Notable performance at the intersection of these two endeavors, as quantified by a series of specific metrics, has lifted an elite selection of universities to 'Top 100” status,' reads the organization's website.

    The "Reuters Top 100: World’s Most Innovative Universities," looks exclusively at universities that have contributed the most to science and technology, leaving the greatest impact on the global economy.

    The full list shows Stanford leading the pack, with a number of Big 10 universities in the rankings.

  8. Two new lecture funds honor CFAES retirees

    Slack and Smith

    Two recently-established lecture funds honor retirees Steve Slack and Keith Smith.

    The Steven A. Slack Lecture on Innovative Research in AgBiosciences (315349) is named for the former director of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and supports an annual lecture.

    The Keith L. Smith Lecture on Innovation in Extension (315170) is named for the former director of OSU Extension and supports that lecture series.