Recipient Organization
JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY INC
8 ABBOTT PARK PL
PROVIDENCE,RI 029033775
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Students enrolled in the growing number of university "food system" and "food innovation" programs are not often presented with intensive research opportunities that facilitate in-depth exploration of the complex challenges surrounding the global food system. This is problematic because undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are known to foster retention, graduation, and persistence in STEM fields among STEM students, and because multidisciplinary research experience will be crucial for preparing the next generation of food system professionals.This project will establish a unique partnership between a land-grant university and a world leader in culinary education, to launch an innovative Faculty Research Fellowship program that will support multidisciplinary teams in addressing pressing food system problems. Research teams will also develop food system curriculum modules for secondary audiences to stimulate new interest in this increasingly important field. The project objectives are to: 1) award at least eight faculty research fellowships; 2) provide experiential, problem-based learning research experiences to 40 undergraduate students through diverse student research teams comprising at least 30% underrepresented minorities; 3) train at least eight faculty on implementing and coordinating multidisciplinary, problem-based research teams; 4) produce 40 food system curriculum modules designed for secondary audiences; and 5) increase enrollment in food systems programs at JWU and URI by 25% over five years. This project will address multiple HEC goals in that it will attract and support undergraduate students in relevant food system majors, facilitate a new cooperative initiative between two institutions, and strengthen institutional capacity and quality of instruction at both institutions.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
40%
Developmental
40%
Goals / Objectives
--Award at least eight faculty research fellowships to faculty at JWU and URI--Provide experiential, problem-based learning research experiences to 40 undergraduate students at JWU and URI through diverse student research teams comprising at least 30% underrepresented minorities--Train at least eight JWU and URI faculty on implementing and coordinating multidisciplinary, problem-based research teams--Produce 40 food system curriculum modules designed for secondary audiences--Increase enrollment in food systems programs at JWU and URI by 25% over five years
Project Methods
The centerpiece of the proposed three-year project will be an annual "Food Systems Faculty Research Fellowship" competition that facilitates experiential learning among students. The fellowships will provide the funding, organizational framework, and faculty professional development needed to support multidisciplinary research teams comprising undergraduate (and a limited number of graduate) students and led by faculty. In the summer of each year, URI and JWU faculty will be invited to submit a proposal to a review panel in response to the annual request for proposals (RFP), generated by project PDs. The RFP will solicit proposals for one-year or two-year research projects designed to address one or more food system problems.With respect to faculty research fellowship proposals, applicants will be required to identify the specific problem to be addressed by the project, and to specify a project timeline. Faculty must also describe the diverse undergraduate, and graduate where necessary, student skill sets needed to execute the multidisciplinary project, noting the desired majors and home institutions of student team members. Research teams of up to five students can be requested by faculty, with the fellowship RFP encouraging teams that combine undergraduate students with a single graduate student, as well as teams that combine students from both participating institutions. Undergraduate teams will comprise students from JWU's CFIT and URI's CELS, with the hope that opening participation to non-food system majors will stimulate new interest in both institutions' food system programs. Students must be able to serve across the entire term of the faculty-proposed project (one or two years).Finally, applicants will be required to propose a project budget for supplies, travel, and other non-personnel expenses, and they must detail professional credentials and experiences relevant to the proposed project. Fellowship applications from faculty will be evaluated each year by a panel including the PDs, representatives of external partners such as the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, and Education Department faculty who can assess projects' potential for generating content for educational modules. Successful fellowship applicants will be compensated using USDA HEC funding. Specifically, HEC funds will be used to support faculty summer pay for each year (one or two years) of their proposed projects, assessed at a rate determined at each partner institution. Importantly, work completed during the regular academic year will be considered part of each Faculty Fellow's standard scholarship/university service workload expectations, and as such it will not be supported with HEC funding.Winning faculty applicants will benefit from professional development in two areas. The first training, funded by HEC and provided by the external evaluator, will build faculty skills in group work and group project management. Specifically, faculty participants will learn how to assign roles, scaffold project deadlines, and employ strategies targeted at group work such as peer assessment, group assessment, facilitating brainstorming, establishing group and peer norms, and peer work contracts. These evidenced-based trainings, led by the external evaluator who currently serves as faculty development specialist at URI, will prepare involved faculty for implementing and coordinating multidisciplinary, problem-based research teams. The second training will be supported by JWU, rather than through HEC funds. Through this training, an education consultant from the secondary school system in Rhode Island will provide guidance and training for faculty fellows in developing effective curricular modules specifically for secondary school audiences. This training, combined with detailed specifications and quality standards provided by the PDs, will ensure that faculty and their student research teams are equipped to develop high-quality educational resources for secondary audiences.Final deliverables expected of all fellowship research teams will include interim and final reports submitted by the faculty fellowship recipient, and all relevant project outputs including new products, materials, journal manuscripts, or publications. Additionally, each research team will be expected to furnish at least five food system curriculum modules designed for secondary audiences. These modules will detail the historical, scientific, economic, political, social, and other dimensions of the specific problem addressed. Designed according to a structure and quality standard established by the co-PDs in consultation with the Rhode Island school system trainer and instructional design systems specialists at both institutions, the modules will each include a classroom activity, assignment, and assessment suggestions. All modules will be freely available to schools anywhere, organized and housed for dissemination through institutional websites and the eXtension Online Campus.