Performing Department
Food Science & Nutrition
Non Technical Summary
Underrepresented students pursue graduate education at lower rates than other students. In addition, enrollment in post-secondary Food Science programs has drastically decreased on a national scale. Thus, the need for future leaders from underrepresented groups is essential to decrease the disparities in professional settings and to ensure the sustainability of the food and agriculture industry. Our goal is to recruit six additional underrepresented students with a focus on first-generation and black students to pursue a M.S. degree in the Food Science, Human Sciences, and Human Nutrition TESA. The measurable objectives are to (1) support six outstanding underrepresented students to (2) engage in multidisciplinary research at the interface of Food Science and Human Nutrition relevant disciplines and (3) leverage this project to create a broader impact on the community through outreach. Fellows will participate in the Foundational Leadership Development Program to enhance the leadership, management, critical thinking and communication skills necessary to succeed in their careers and advance the TESA. In the Teach-Back Program, Fellows will mentor high school students from underprivileged backgrounds creating a pipelining effect for the TESA. The Fellowship program will include structured hands-on immersion in multidisciplinary research augmented with internship experiences and mentorship from industry professionals. This project aligns with the need to develop scientific and professional expertise in food science outlined by USDA to meet the goal of providing Americans with safe, nutritious and secure food, and addresses a national priority to achieving social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in the food science and nutrition TESA.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
100%
Applied
0%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
Major Goal #1. Supportand trainnew students inMaster's thesis research in order to fill nationally identified expertise shortage areasof Food Scienceand Human Nutrition.Objective #1. Assess learning outcomes(knowledge of core food science concepts, critical thinking, communication, problem-solving)annually using the Annual Learning Outcome Assessment Report.Objective#2.Assess implementation fidelity of the Fellowship program.Objective#3.Assess effectiveness of the Fellowship Program by conducting a focus group with the Fellows to determine how experiences in the program helped Fellows acquire leadership skills, obtain the program competencies, and prepare them for a career in industry.Major Goal #2. To increase the number, quality, and diversity of students in the food, agricultural and related sciences by recruiting outstanding students, particularly those from traditionally underrepresented groups, to enter and complete graduate training in these areas.Objective #1.Assess reach as the number of applicants applying tothe Fellowship program annually and collectdemographicinformation related to race, ethnicity, and first generation status.Objective #2.Assess adoption as thesuccessful enrollment into the Fellowship program.Objective #3.Assess maintenance as the success with which Fellows stay enrolled, complete the program, and continue into a career field related to the TESA.Objective#4. Track Fellow progress after NNF.We expect to trackthe six Fellows inprogram for five years post-graduation (years 1, 3, and 5), and administer surveys to the Fellow alumni and employersto capture continued Fellow accomplishments for quality improvement initiatives.
Project Methods
EFFORTS(I) Foundational Leadership Development Program (FLDP). The classroom sessions will be structured in two six-hour modules, one at the beginning of their program and the second before graduation taught by faculty in the Leadership Development Program at Chapman. Both modules will include self-assessment and skill-building exercises. Topics will consist of leadership philosophy, leadership traits and styles, developing successful leadership practices, communicating as a leader, and leadership in groups.(II) Community Outreach Teach-Back Program. An essential component of this Fellowship is a Teach-Back Program, where the Fellows will share their knowledge with economically underprivileged high school students. They will give presentations, demonstrations, organize hands-on experiential and shadowing activities, and provide mentoring to the students. The target student groups include:Simon Scholars from the Simon STEM Scholarship Program: this scholarship program allows Orange Unified School District (OUSD) high school students from difficult economic situations interested in a STEM field to receive a full scholarship to Chapman University.Orange Homegrown Youth Literacy Program: The program provides hands-on learning opportunities for OUSD high school students to engage in the entire food production cycle, and give them tools to make important choices related to food, health, and their future.Higher Ground: a grassroots organization that aims to keep at-risk young people out of gangs. Chapman students will assist and mentor youth, a majority of whom come from Latino households at or below the poverty line and have single parents.(III) Coordination of the Food Science seminar series. Fellows will be responsible for coordinating the Food Science seminar series which will hone their leadership skills. The Fellows will identify and invite academic and industry speakers, develop an agenda, and take care of all logistics.(IV) Research. Fellows will engage in a collaborative research project at the interface of food science and nutrition that will consist of structured hands-on immersion experiences in food processing, food chemistry, or nutrition research laboratories. In the food processing laboratory, Fellows will change food processing parameters (time/temperature/pressure) used for food or beverages. In the food chemistry laboratory, Fellows will characterize the content and composition of food or beverage products. In the nutrition lab, Fellows will use cell culture techniques to determine the impact of bioactive compounds in food and beverage on health outcomes. The Fellows will first shadow a senior graduate student researcher to learn standard methods and techniques. This will enhance their sense of self-efficacy and aid in their transition to becoming independent researchers.(V) Grant Writing Bootcamp (GWB). Fellows will participate in an intensive grant-writing workshop over two days. Fellows will gain practical experience and learn how to draft a proposal, write impactful executive summaries, and conduct peer evaluation of proposals. Fellows will also learn about public and private funding opportunities, how review panels evaluate proposals after being submitted, and how to engage Program Officers that organize funding mechanisms. At the end of the GWB, Fellows will apply for internal grant opportunities at Chapman.(VI) Internship. Although all M.S. students in the Food Science program can engage in internships, the Fellows will have the choice of a priority internship in a regulatory agency or a paid industry internship with Kerry or Danone (Collaborative Arrangements - Kerry Group).(VII) Continual Professional Development. Fellows will obtain memberships to professional societies aligned with the TESA, such as AOCS, IFT, ASN, or ACS, and engage in professional development opportunities they offer. For example, Fellows will view and participate in webcasts or podcasts each semester [26]. Sample professional development topics include Managing Up: Building a Healthy Relationship with your Employer, Social Media, Getting the Most out of Your Mentoring Relationships, Imposter Syndrome and JEDI in the food industry.EVALUATIONPlan for achieving completion rate greater than the M.S. Food Science program.Our one-year retention rate for the past decade (2010 - 2020) has been ~80%. We expect that the NNF stipend as well as the scholarships offered by Chapman University will allow the Fellows to be enrolled full time and achieve a 100% retention rate. Our analysis of students from the 2016 and 2017 cohorts shows that the average graduation rate for students in the 2016 cohort was 2.4 years, with a median of 2.25 years. The average for the 2017 cohort was 2.3 years, with a median of 2.5 years. We expect that Fellows will graduate in a similar timeline.Plans to measure and report performance outcomes and impacts. Each learning outcome(knowledge of core food science concepts, critical thinking, communication, problem-solving)is assessed annually and reported using our Annual Learning Outcome Assessment Report which includes responses from an exit survey administered to all graduates of the M.S. Food Science Program. In addition to this annual report, assessment of the NNF program will be done using the RE-AIM framework of efficacy, adoption, implementation fidelity & effectiveness, and maintenance. Reach is a measure of the number of applicants for the proposed graduate training program annually. Adoption is a measure of successful enrollment into the proposed graduate training program and is assessed by calculating the number of students that accept placement in the graduate program. Maintenance informs the success with which Fellows stay enrolled, complete the program, and continue into a career field related to the TESA. It is assessed by calculating the proportion of students enrolled in the graduate program to the total number of Fellows enrolled in the program. We would compare the Reach, Adoption, and Maintenance data from the year of Fellowship implementation to the data from two years prior and expect an increase in 2- and 3- year graduation rates.Effectivenesswill be assessed by conducting a focus group with the Fellows in their final semester. Focus group questions will determine how experiences in the Fellowship program helped Fellows acquire leadership skills, obtain the program competencies, and prepare them for a career in industry.Implementation fidelity informs that the investigators adhered to the delivery of the Fellowship program as described in this proposal.We will track how many Fellows:engaged in, completed, and published thesis researchpartook in industry internshipcompleted and followed up with their academic mentor on their IDPtook part in the Grant Writer's Bootcampattended the Foundational Leadership Development Programjoined professional societies and took leadership roles withinattended professional development activities within professional societiescoordinated elements of the Food Science and Nutrition seminar serieshad and shadowed an industry professionalhad a Graduate Teaching Assistantship or participated in Teach-Back community outreach ProgramThe goal of tracking. Working with Alumni Engagement and the Office of Institutional Research, we expect to successfully track 100% of the six Fellows accepted into the program for five years post-graduation (years 1, 3, and 5), and administer surveys to the Fellow alumni and employers. The PDs will also review the Fellow and employer surveys to capture continued Fellow accomplishments for quality improvement initiatives.