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The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology

2014-2015 Newsletter

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

newsletter

Greetings!

We are pleased to be sending you the first electronic newsletter for the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology. A special thanks to Dr. Kathie Reid, Department of Child Family and Consumer Sciences, and Ms. Jackie Mundt, JCAST Communication Intern, for shepherding the newsletter to completion. I hope you find the articles of interest. We have tried to feature the broad range of activities in the college. In addition, I think you will enjoy learning about the people who make the college a fun and exciting place to learn and work.

In spite of the downturn in the economy, the college continues to have many things to celebrate, including some of these recent examples. Plans are progressing for the new Rue and Gwen Gibson Farm Market. This facility will allow us to expand our sales space, feature educational events and inform the public of our activities and agriculture in general. The Student Dietetic Association is selling products from the farm market on campus as a healthy snack alternative. Five of our students were named National Collegiate Agricultural Ambassadors for 2008 -2009 by the National FFA Organization. We are the only university with multiple ambassadors having this honor. Our faculty and staff continue to be engaged in the community as providers of continuing education and research. A foundation of these activities is student involvement. I feel blessed to be able to work with our students, faculty and staff.

In the future this column will feature various administrators in the college and their areas of focus. I know they will have many exciting happenings to share.

Charles Boyer, Dean

PAGE 1

Focus on Teaching

JCAST Profs Engage Students with New Technology

 

Today s JCAST students enter the classroom with a variety of personal technological gadgets that professors typically ask them to turn off at the door, such as cell phones, iPods, or Blackberries, in order to prevent disruption of the learning environment. A growing number of professors in the college, though, are encouraging their students to turn on a new gadget upon entering class because they feel confident it is actually increasing engagement with the curriculum.

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PAGE 2

Research is Key to the Future

 

How would you describe Fresno State? Would the words cutting edge make the list? If your answer is no, it s time to take a look at the transformation that is happening within the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology.

 

The university is recruiting new faculty members with the intention to transfer this university from purely teaching to teaching and research oriented, said N. P. Mahalik, assistant professor of Industrial Technology.

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PAGE 3

2 nd Annual JCAST Olympics:

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of the Watermelon?!

 

Not to be outdone by this summer s Olympics in Beijing, the Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology held its 2 nd Annual JCAST Olympics and Barbeque on Friday, September 5. While the lawn between the dean s office and the Satellite Student Union might not have provided the pomp and circumstance of the opening ceremonies in China, for a few excitement-packed hours, sports-enthusiasts could see the athletic prowess of the College s students, faculty, and staff as they rolled watermelons across the lawn with their heads, bucked giant bales of hay, and used sponges to fill a bucket with wine in a Viticulture and Enology-inspired relay. And with Dean Charles Boyer acting as the BBQ Master, and Associate Dean Sandra Witte as the official referee?...who needed Michael Phelps?!

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PAGE 4

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.

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