Recipient Organization
CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIV
3801 WEST TEMPLE AVENUE
POMONA,CA 91768
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
California is a leading producer of agricultural products and has the highest number of foodprocessing operations in the nation. Recent shifts in the food industry especially in SouthernCalifornia has boosted the rapid growth of technology-intensive start-ups including Beyond Meatand BlueNalu. Contrary to the increasing need for food scientists and technologists, the number ofgraduates from our local institutions offering BS and MS programs in Food Science & Technology(FST) has declined over the years. Indeed, all seven FST programs in this region have experienceda decrease in student enrollment since 2018, which mirrors the same decline on the national level.There is an urgent need 1) to create a pipeline for a talent pool of students entering FST from highschools or community colleges, especially from traditionally underserved communities, 2) to growour smaller programs at CSU campuses of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Northridge, and San Diego,and 3) to enhance our relatively large BS or MS programs at two Cal Poly schools and ChapmanUniversity. In response, a Southern California FST Faculty Consortium has been established in2019 with a mission of collectively offering an education of excellence in FST and graduatesizeable students of high-caliber quality to join the workforce. The faculty representing theConsortium is submitting this Planning Activity proposal aiming to strengthen regional facultycollaborations, enhance student academic andprofessional development, and build academiaindustry-government partnerships, so that the Consortium will be in a better position to prepare aCG2 proposal for 2023 submission.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
This is a Planning Activity project with a target goal and three specific objectives:Goal: to officialize the SoCal FST Faculty Consortium by:Objective 1 - formalizing the Consortium's Mission and Vision Statements, and other guidingprinciples for our joint efforts and practices in promoting FST education and innovation;Objective 2 - standardizing four (4) taskforce groups comprised of faculty members who alreadyvoluntarily signed up on one of the four (4)thrust directions - teaching enhancement, researchcollaboration, industry-academia partnership building, and food science educationandoutreach for recruitment and enrollment pipeline;Objective 3 - developing joint educational and research grant proposals to ensure the continuationand sustainable operation of this faculty Consortium. The immediate outcome will be a joint CG2Project proposal under this same USDA HEC Program in 2023. The key participating faculty underthis Consortium (nine members listed under Section 4 Key Personnel representing the seven FSTprograms) have been in discussion to develop a CG2 proposal over the past two years. However,our previous Planning Activity proposal led by ChapmanUniversity was unsuccessful in 2021funding cycle. It is our intention to resubmit a revised planning activity proposal in 2022 (thecurrent funding cycle) by addressing the reviewers' comments and suggestions; if successfullyawarded, we will be able to consolidate our ongoing efforts to prepare a stronger CG2 Projectproposal for successful submission in spring 2023. Overall impacts from the planned CG2 proposal(tentatively 3 years from 2023 to 2026) will result in broader impacts especially direct benefitstowards students, faculty, the food industry and local communities in Southern California.There is an urgent need in So Cal region to create a pipeline for a talent pool of students enteringFood Science & Technologyfrom high schools or community colleges, especially from traditionally underservedcommunities, 2) to grow our smaller programs, i.e., at CSU Los Angeles, CSU Long Beach,CSU Northridge, and San Diego State University, and 3) to enhance our relatively large BSor MS programs at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Chapman University.
Project Methods
This Planning Activity grant proposal has one target goal with threespecific objectives, i.e., to formalize the Consortium with confirmed vision and mission statements. While continuingour regular Zoom meetings, two in-person planning/hearing meetings will be added to facilitatethe final development of the CG2 proposal. Particularly, the first in-person meeting will be held inDecember 2022 with all Consortium faculty being invited to attend. Assisted by a professionalfacilitator, we plan to conduct a SWOT analysis to identify gaps and opportunities for the growthand enhancement of our current educational programs. The second listening meeting held in March2023 is aimed to solicitstakeholders' inputs from industrial partners and HS/CC counsellors.Specific activities and outcomes are outlined in the meeting agendas.