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The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology

JCAST CONNECT CONTENT VOL. 1

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PAGE 5

SPOTLIGHT:

Department Chairs Reveal their 5 Things Lists

 

Ever wondered what our JCAST department chairs are interested in? Or what they carry in their purses or wallets? Inspired by one of those chain e-mails that we all get in our inboxes now and again, we asked the chair of each department in JCAST to help us get to know them better by letting us in on some of the interesting and some might say, quirky details of their lives by giving us their 5 Things lists.

 

This is what they each had to say. And if you re interested in additional details, like their academic and research backgrounds, we ve also included links to their bios on their department websites.

 

Annette Levi

Agricultural Economics

 
  1. Name five things you have in your purse.

An iPod, sunglasses, gum (Spearmint Trident Sugarless, to be exact), cash, and a California driver s license.

In Dr. Levi s own words: I can drive somewhere and buy something while wearing sunglasses, listening to music, and with my breath smelling good!

  1. Name five things in your office.

Coffee, a Bulldog clock, a Bulldog jacket, a cellular phone, and an iMac.

  1. Name five things your students should read.

The Wall Street Journal; the front section of their hometown newspaper; the required reading in their courses; a personal finance text (Dr. Levi recommends one published by The Wall Street Journalor Personal Finance for Dummies); and because Dr. Levi likes a little bit of fun, Gary Larson.

  1. Name five things you always wanted to do.

See the Seven Wonders of the World ( By the time I get there, I ll be too old to climb any of them! ); upon retirement, do some volunteer work and give back to the community; learn another language ( An exotic language! Something hard to learn that will work my brain! ); to learn a new sport (perhaps Tai Chi); and READ!!!

  1. Name five things you are interested in.

Language, cultures, people ( The way they think, the way they tick. ), political issues, and trends.

 

Art Parham

Animal Sciences and Agricultural Education

 
  1. Name five things you have in your wallet.

Picture of my wife; pictures of my son wrestling, running track, and in western dress at age 2; social security card; a credit card or two; and CSUF Alumni Association Lifetime Member Card.

  1. Name five things in your office.

One big mess, a hat rack, a Coca-Cola refrigerator, a computer, and a picture of three cowboys from my mother.

  1. Name five things your students should read.

Saving the World through Pesticides and Plasticby Dennis Avery; the newspaper (daily); the Bible (daily); The Life of Will Rogers; and The Cattle Kingby Edward F. Treadwell.

  1. Name five things you always wanted to do.

Fly an airplane; shoot an elk; win a state championship; tour Yellowstone in the dead of the winter in snowcap; tour Australia.

  1. Name five things you are interested in.

Critters, kids, athletics of all kinds, the Civil War, and whatever livestock show is open today.

 

Marianne Jones

Child, Family, and Consumer Sciences

 
  1. Name five things you have in your purse.

Two sets of keys ( Work keys have a Fresno State gizmo on them, and personal keys have a wonderful leather key ring that came from Italy from a bar. ); little pouch for odds and ends like Advil and Band-Aids; usually one of my grandchildren s oddball toys; cell phone; and a whole huge handful of pencils, pens, and highlighters.

  1. Name five things in your office.

The many, many books that I love; a few inspirational things that remind me of who my best self is ( like the words dream and inspire to reflect the meaning I want in my life ); a fan to ward off the hot flashes; multiple sets of eye glasses ( for the computer and for reading ); and I m not very sentimental, but a few things in my office have great meaning for me, such as my family photos I look at my grandchildren s pictures, and it reminds me of why I m in this field.

  1. Name five things your students should read.

Something that inspires them; something for pleasure; their textbooks; some news every day; and they should read their textbooks! ( That bears repeating! )

  1. Name five things you always wanted to do.

Travel extensively ( I want to see the whole world! ); learn a second language (is already learning Italian); have grandchildren so that I could be the kind of grandmother that my grandmother was to me; have a very enriching home life; and do satisfying work that makes a difference.

  1. Name five things you are interested in.

Reading, cooking/eating; vegetable and herb gardening; quilting; and travel.

 

Matthew Yan

Industrial Technology

 
  1. Five things in your wallet.

Family picture, daughter s picture, wife s picture, credit card, and driver s license.

  1. Five things in your office.

Poster of a bullfight given to me by Angel Fernandez, a student from Spain; a painting called Sunset Sail that was painted by the mother of the student from India who gave it to me,Vijay Rengaraju; a cartoon picture that from one perspective looks like an old lady, and from another looks like a young lady; the Fresno State College Geoffrey B. Noakes Outstanding Wood Craftsman Award, which is a gold hammer and was passed down to me by Dr. Gary Grannis; and a group picture from a trip to Taiwan in 1991 for the International Seminar on the Application of Computers in Agricultural Technology ( Included in the picture are Dean Smallwood and Dr. Dennis Nef. ).

  1. Five things your students should read.

The Bible; Dale Carnegie s How to Win Friends and Influence People and How to Stop Worrying and Start Living; The Biography of Isaac Newton; and Shakespeare.

  1. Five things you always wanted to do.

Fly an airplane by myself; go to the Barrier Reef off Australia; visit the Taj Majal; take a trip to the Holy Land; and have dinner with the president of the United States.

  1. Five things you are interested in.

Playing piano, karaoke, reading Shakespeare, swimming, and tennis.

 

James Farrar

Plant Sciences

Food Science and Nutrition (Interim)

 
  1. Five things in your wallet.

A driver s license and 4 bucks.

  1. Five things in your office.

Artwork from my 7- and 9-year-olds; a picture of my beautiful wife; a ceramic mushroom; lots of books, and a mini bale of cotton.

  1. Five things your students should read.

The Triumph of the Fungi: A Rotten Historyby Nicholas P. Money; Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last?by Sandra Postel; a book written more than 100 years ago; agreements you sign that have lots of fine print; and music.

  1. Five things you always wanted to do.

Hike the Appalachian Trail; canoe the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota; swim in the Great Salt Lake; drink Guinness Stout in a pub in Ireland; and live 100 years.

  1. Five things you are interested in.

Raising my kids to be healthy adults and good citizens; anything related to plant biology; running faster; making bread; and any comedy based on farce.

 

Robert Wample

Viticulture and Enology

 
  1. Five things in your wallet.

Pictures of wife, children, and grandson; credit cards; business cards; social security card; and a defensive driving card.

  1. Five things in your office.

Thousands of research papers; thousands of reference texts; thousands of industry trade journals; mementos from my travels around the world; and a plaque recognizing my term as president of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture.

  1. Five things your students should read.

The World is Flat; Black Swan; The Origin(a biography about Charles Darwin); the daily international and national news ( hardcopy or online I don t care which ); scientific and industry trade journals related to their course of study and career.

  1. Five things you always wanted to do.

Float the Grand Canyon; return to Kathmandu, Nepal to see the changes that have occurred since I left in 1964; visit South Africa; go backpacking with my grandson; and shoot par on a round of golf.

  1. Five things you are interested in.

Application of new technologies to agriculture; understanding the relationship between variability in soils and crop yield and quality; the development of technologies to use waste (agricultural, industrial, domestic, etc.) to reduce the impact of landfills and their use as a renewable source of energy; improving the opportunity for a better understanding between countries through more and better student exchanges; and building a better mouse trap.

 

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