Human Environmental Sciences 2005

oklahoma state university • 2005

Solving Human Problems …

Enhancing Human Lives As I sat at my desk to write to you about the incredible growth that has taken place inside our college over the past five years, the sight outside caught my attention. The Bradford pear and cherry trees on campus are in full bloom, and the students, just back from spring break, are blooming too.

It struck me that there’s a distinct difference between mere growth and blossoming. Numbers tell the story of an amazing 63 percent increase in our college enrollment in the past five years.

As I review the contents of the 2005 CHES Magazine, I appreciate anew the importance of alumni and friends in realizing our college’s remarkable growth and development. The CHES Associates and CHES Alumni Board and the departmental and school advisory boards are active and essential in recruiting and retaining students. Scholarships are decisive in attracting the best and brightest students, and we continue to increase the dollars available through generous private gifts.

Attracting faculty talent is greatly affected by facility enhancements as well as chairs and professorships.

These enhancements would not have occurred without private support. We know our accomplishments are the result of many, and we are mindful of Althea Gibson’s wisdom: “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.”

“No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you.”

Statistics place three of our four majors in the top 10 chosen by OSU students. Design, housing and merchandising ranks fourth largest, with 551 students; human development and family science ranks fifth, with 514; and hotel and restaurant administration ranks seventh, with 373 students. The nutritional sciences major ranks 12th largest. Our doctoral program is now the third largest at OSU.

I know you would be intrigued by the myriad of new research activity — a 129 percent increase in grants and contracts since 1998.

And I suspect I’d have a hard time pulling you away from the dazzling new teaching laboratories that not only give our students remarkable experiences but also returned $1.9 million in revenues to the college last year. Inside this magazine you’ll read about the newest dream, the Rancher’s Club, coming online next fall at the Atherton Hotel.

Patricia Knaub, Dean Anthony Hart

With all that to share, I wish I could trade places with you for a few moments. I’d like you to feel the excitement in the new Becky Steen McCaskill Center for Student Success where students are being launched around the world to internships and first jobs. Read more about it in this issue.

I wish you could meet the talented new faculty we’ve attracted to both enrich our programs and meet the demands of expanded enrollment.

To all who support us in these and countless other ways, thank you.

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NOTHING LIKE EXPERIENCE

GOING UPSCALE AT HOME

By offering students broad opportunities to develop leadership skills and gain experience before graduation, CHES attracts top high school students and produces well-trained professionals.

The Atherton Hotel, with the help of alumni and other friends, will soon serve up a five-star dining experience in elegant new surroundings well-suited to OSU.

2

All in the details Hosting the national “Arts of Fashion” competition and having a student selected to compete shines a spotlight on the quality of OSU’s design program.

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PUTTING RESEARCH TO WORK CHES faculty researchers are providing solutions to problems as large as protecting our troops in combat to conquering obesity in children.

all photos Erika Contreras except Atherton rendering

ches magazine • VOLUME 12, 2005 Dean, College of Human Environmental Sciences – Patricia Knaub Vice President for Development and CHES Senior Development Officer – Mark Webster Editor – Eileen Mustain Art Director – Paul V. Fleming CHES Publications Manager – Julie Barnard Associate Editor – Janet Varnum VP Enrollment Management and Marketing – Michael Heintze CHES Magazine is a publication of the ­Oklahoma State University College of ­Human Environmental Sciences.

Its purpose is to ­connect this College with its many stakeholders, providing information on both ­campus news and pertinent issues in the field of human environmental sciences. © Oklahoma State University 2005

About The Cover: Alumna Becky Steen McCaskill, featured on the cover, has been a strong supporter of the College of Human Environmental Sciences since she graduated, helping with scholarship promotion and alumni relations and providing leadership in the CHES Alumni Association. Her latest contribution to enhance CHES student experience is the Becky Steen McCaskill Center for Student Success, an academic and career advisement center funded by Becky and her husband, Tom (photo, Karen Moore Studio; related story, page 12).

Visit our website at: ches.okstate.edu or contact us at 101 Human Environmental Sciences Stillwater, OK 74078-6116 (405) 744-5053 telephone (405) 744-7113 fax Oklahoma State University in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. Title IX of the Education Amendments and Oklahoma State University policy prohibit discrimination in the provision of services of benefits offered by the University based on gender. Any person (student, faculty or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based upon gender may discuss their concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with the OSU Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Carolyn Hernandez, Director of Affirmative Action, 408 Whitehurst, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, (405)744-5371 or (405)744-5576(fax). This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the College of Human Environmental Sciences, was printed by Creative Services, University Printing Services at no cost to the taxpayers of Oklahoma. 14,550/April/05. 9614

College News A Seamless Success When apparel design senior Jen Muegge was selected as a semifinalist for the Arts of Fashion Foundation national finals, she spent long hours perfecting every detail of her hand-dyed skirt and seashell broach for scrutiny under the bright runway lights. all photos Erika Contreras

trends in forecasting, getting started in the business and the importance of preserving and maintaining design documentation,” she says.

Jen Muegge And when OSU was chosen to host the national competition, the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising scrupulously orchestrated every detail of the multifaceted event knowing the fashion world would be watching.

“OSU was able to host a first-class design exhibit, competition and seminars for the Arts of Fashion Foundation,” says Donna Branson, professor and head of the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising.

College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

Of the 63 semi-finalists competing at OSU before a panel of international judges, 15 were selected to progress to the international finals, the Concours International des Jeunes Createurs de Mode, in Paris.

“Besides being an excellent opportunity to showcase our OSU program to the world, this provided a fabulous opportunity for us to expose our students to renowned international designers and merchandisers who shared their insight with students on

“Topics like those are of interest to all our students,” Branson says, “not just the apparel design majors.”

Many OSU faculty, staff, students, alumni and volunteers contributed their time and expertise to make the competition a success, Branson adds.

DHM faculty Jane Swinney, for example, organized the DHM student organization to host a Friday evening welcome reception for all of the design competitors.

“Hosting an event of this magnitude was a great opportunity for our apparel design students,” says Diane Morton-Ricord, who teaches basic and intermediate apparel assembly.

“Some of my students were involved in unpacking and hanging the garments, which allowed them to examine the construction,” she says. “They also assisted in the process to select models for the fashion show, which helped them to see the importance of fit and following the required specifications for producing a garment in the correct size.”

Apparel design student Haley Hollaway says interacting with the contestants gave her greater appreciation for the passion that goes into

each designer’s work. “I am awed by the amount of creativity that went into the designs of the garments,” she says. “It really opened my eyes to look for inspiration from any source.”

Exposing students to the behind-the-scenes details of a fashion competition is extremely valuable, DHM faculty Byoungho Jin adds. “It’s not always possible for students to see or be a part of big events like this or for students to interact with renowned experts like the judges who visited

our classes and critiqued the students’ work and answered their questions.

Apparel merchandising alumna Laura Demaree is one of many volunteers who coordinated numerous behindthe-scenes tasks to make the competition a smooth success. She organized gift baskets and transportation for the judges, and her husband Roger arranged state-of-the-art sound for the show.

And when the house lights dimmed, theatrical lighting orchestrated

by DHM interior design faculty Ted Drab

illuminated the walkway of the darkened room with intense, white light to showcase the true colors of each garment, while softly-colored light in leaf shapes lit a background wall to complement the show’s theme.

“It was imperative that the show reflect the level of excellence of OSU’s design, housing and merchandising program,” says Demaree, who works as general merchandising manager and buyer for Eskimo Joe’s Clothes. “And from the feedback I’ve heard, we set a new standard.”

One crucial element of any fashion event — the selection of models with avant-garde coiffures and makeup, was the responsibility of Ladan Zarrabi of Stillwater’s Ladan Hair Design and Day Spa. “Ladan’s knowledge and ability gave the models the perfect look to complement each original design,” Branson says.

Even though Muegge was not one of the 15 chosen to advance to the international finals in Paris, she is headed to the famous fashion capitol this spring following graduation for a fulltime job she landed after doing an internship there last summer.

“My internship really gave me a chance to see how my skills compared to students from other

universities,” she says, “and I felt more than adequate based on what I’d learned at OSU.” Branson says Muegge’s selection as a national contestant for the Arts of Fashion Foundation’s competition at OSU will open doors for her in the fashion industry.

And likewise, OSU’s selection as host of the event will benefit all students.

“Hosting the competition and having one of our students selected to compete in both categories gave us an occasion to show off Oklahoma, OSU and our department,” Branson says. “And we did a great job of showing our national and international guests what OSU can offer the world.”

Janet Varnum

For more info, visit http://arts-of-fashion.org/ or http://www.ches.okstate.edu/web-ches/dhm.asp

Oklahoma State University

Erika Contreras

New Nutritional Sciences Head Nancy Betts says her new position as professor and head of OSU’s Department of Nutritional Sciences presents opportunities she simply couldn’t refuse.

Betts comes to OSU from the University of Nebraska, where she worked for 23 years in various capacities, including assistant director of the Agricultural Research Division for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, research liaison for the College of Education and Human Sciences and research professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences.

The promise of broader experience swayed Betts’ decision, she says. “My positions focused on research at the University of Nebraska. Here I have the opportunity to work more broadly with teaching, research and outeach.” In addition, she will continue to pursue her field of interest, which is food choice behavior, and to participate in research aimed at obesity prevention and intervention.

Teaching a seminar this semester also pleases Betts, who says she has missed teaching.

“I believe this position will allow me to have more impact on student and faculty development,” she says. Her administrative experience in Nebraska has prepared her for finding ways to enhance recognition of faculty strengths and to build research capacity here at OSU. Betts received a bachelor’s in psychology from Pennsylvania State University in 1974, a master’s in human nutrition and food management from Ohio State University in 1980 and a doctorate in human nutrition with a minor in research design and statistics from Ohio State University in 1981.

Eileen Mustain

Nancy Betts

Hailin Qu

At the Head of His Class Two recent appointments leave no question as to Hailin Qu’s stature in the hospitality and tourism professional and academic circles.

Being named editor-in-chief for the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism and the Europe and North America regional editor for the Journal of China Tourism Research clearly distinguishes the professor in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration as a leader among his peers.

Anthony Hart

The Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism disseminates new research findings and superior practices in tourism and hospitality and is distributed worldwide to industry academics and professionals.

“The content includes theoretical and methodological research papers and case studies to give readers examples of theory development and real-world practices and experiences,” Qu says.

The Journal of China Tourism Research is the first bilingual, Chinese and English, refereed journal in hospitality and tourism. “The content includes all areas of tourism research related to Greater China, and welcomes papers from academics, researchers and practitioners,” according to Qu. Among the many responsibilities inherent in publishing four issues per year, nearly 500 pages, Qu sets editorial policy and selects manuscripts for publication. The additional workload is well worth the effort, according to Qu. “Having the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism stationed here raises the profile of OSU’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration.

“I think the journal will further strengthen the reputation of the School, the College of Human Environmental Sciences and OSU and will bring OSU’s hospitality and tourism research to a new level.”

Eileen Mustain

College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

Providing a Compass

Palakurthi Joins HRAD Faculty

Stoecker Works to Rebuild Iraq

When she became fairly certain the new Medicare bill would pass, Marca Davis, coordinator of OSU’s Gerontology Institute, began putting a plan in place to help Oklahomans understand the bill’s provisions.

Radesh Palakurthi already feels at home at OSU even though he has been in Stillwater less than a year.

Barbara Stoecker has been busy lending her expertise to the reconstruction of Iraq.

In the fall of 2003, Davis enlisted partners, including pharmaceutical companies, the American Association of Retired Persons, the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, the Senior Health Insurance Counseling Program and area agencies on aging.

The professor in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration started work at OSU in September. After completing a bachelor’s at Florida International, he pursued a master’s from Purdue University and a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University, both land grant institutions. He also acquired a master’s in business administration from San Jose State University.

“It’s great. I’ve always been at land-grant universities,” says Palakurthi. “Being back at a land-grant university is like returning home. I love it.”

He considers his areas of expertise to be hospitality marketing and information technology.

OSU and its partners held the first educational forum, “Navigating the New Medicare” in March 2004. An average of 60 to 70 seniors, caregivers, nurses, pharmacists, social workers and other professionals who work with seniors, attended the 15 forums held around the state.

He worked as an assistant professor at the University of North Texas and as a professor at San Jose State University. While on sabbatical from San Jose State, he traveled to New Zealand where he worked as a visiting professor for the Wellington Institute of Technology, one of the country’s largest polytechnic institutes.

“I knew seniors were uncertain as to what the bill would mean for them. We tried to clear up misconceptions. Some did not realize the program is voluntary or that they don’t have to drop their insurance,” Davis says.

“We hoped to encourage seniors to be proactive, to understand what the bill stands for and to call their legislators if they disagree.”

The educational forums will resume in August with information about part D, which goes into effect in January 2006, and will continue as policies change, Davis says. “We want to clear up misconceptions and fears seniors may take from media reports.”

Eileen Mustain

Cory Cheney Erika Contreras

“The forums were strictly nonpartisan, and there were differing viewpoints presented. For instance, pharmacists favor the importation of drugs, whereas the pharmaceutical companies oppose it,” she says.

Palakurthi also serves as the master’s program coordinator for HRAD. “It’s great working with graduate students,” he says. “We have close to 25 master’s students and 30 doctoral students. They keep us very busy.”

Radesh Palakurthi

The Regents professor in nutritional sciences, working with several colleagues in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, helped establish child health monitoring programs for children in Iraq. Malnutrition, already high, has grown worse during the war.

The U.S. Agency for International Development funded the work in November 2003 with part of a grant awarded to the Oklahoma Higher Education Partnership. The grant, worth approximately $5 million, went to OSU, the University of Oklahoma, Langston University and Cameron University to assist five large Iraqi universities.

Stoecker also conducted a workshop, “Current Perspectives in Child Nutrition,” for Iraqis in August 2004. Ten faculty members from the departments of Pediatrics, Preventive Medicine and Community Health in four Iraq universities attended the workshop in Jordan. The director of the Nutrition Research Institute of Iraq, two of his staff members, a UNICEF/Iraq physician and director of nutrition also attended.

The workshop provided an excellent opportunity to interact with Iraqi faculty members, prepare for their national micronutrient survey and provide assistance in using Internet resources, which have recently become more accessible.

Eileen Mustain

Oklahoma State University

Student Experience Fimple Garners International Scholarship Brandon Fimple, nutritional science freshman, can thank his sister for his scholarship.

with top world water experts, attending seminars and visiting various research facilities.

Fimple, recipient of the Stockholm International Water Institute’s Stockholm Junior Water Prize, says the inspiration for his award-winning research project stemmed from his sister’s work on a similar project the year before. Using her research as a base, Fimple expanded the scope.

The SJWP comes with $2,500 and a five-day, all-expense paid trip to Stockholm. Fimple’s Vinita (Okla.) High School science teacher also received $500 for classroom enhancement.

His project, “The Environmental Impact of Aluminum Sulphate and Salicylic Acid Treated Poultry Litters on Forage Production and Watersheds,” sent Fimple and his family to Stockholm last August where he spent a week interacting

There were many stops between Vinita and Sweden. The project first won at the regional level and then was chosen by the Oklahoma Water Environmental Association to represent the state at the national competition in Denver, Colo., where Fimple’s project defeated more than 40 challengers.

“I was in shock,” he says. “It’s the closest I’ve come to passing out.”

The SJWP, the most prestigious international youth award for water science research, serves to increase students’ interest in water-related issues and educate them on global water challenges.

The Water Environment Foundation sponsors the award in the U.S. Fimple also received a CHES Freshman Research Scholarship.

The scholarships are part of the college’s plan to recruit outstanding students and promote undergraduate research. The second-semester freshman plans to put his research skills to use in food product development.

Cory Cheney

Brandon Fimple

A Cure for a Common Stud For one student in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, Tylenol offers more than relief from headaches.

It also provides “tuition relief” in the form of a $10,000 scholarship.

Danielle Davies, nutritional sciences freshman, is among 10 college students from across the country to receive the 2004 Tylenol Scholarship for students in healthrelated fields.

Davies, who plans to be a dietician, says she was surprised to win the scholarship because she was competing with

College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

students from across the country.

“I just filled out all the scholarship applications I could,” Davies says. “I didn’t expect to get the $10,000. I know there were a lot of people with really good test scores and leadership skills. I feel really blessed to receive it.”

McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Tylenol, began the scholarship program in 1991. In 2002, the company began awarding the scholarship specifically to students in healthcarerelated fields.

Sonnier Receives IFMA’s Highest Award Amanda Sonnier reacted like many college students discovering they’ve won a big scholarship.

She was surprised.

The award letter went to her parents’ house. When Kennedy Rehbein, manager for the International Facility Management Association Foundation, contacted Sonnier, the interior design

“I didn’t know I was the only one until I got there and people recognized my name,” she says. “It was very overwhelming but in a good way.”

Sonnier wants an interior design position in the hospitality industry and believes contacts she made at the conference might be of assistance.

“I met a lot of profes-

students received scholarships from the IFMA Foundation. Applicants must be enrolled in a facility management degree course, have a 3.0 GPA and have completed two years from an accredited four-year university.

IFMA’s scholarship program serves to promote education and all photos Erika Contreras

Danielle Davies

dent Ailment “We are wholeheartedly committed to the future of American healthcare and proud to offer financial relief to the people who need it the most, our students,” says Ashley McEvoy, vice president of marketing for McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals.

This year Tylenol awarded $250,000 in scholarships, giving 10 students $10,000 awards and 150 students $1,000 awards. According to McNeil, the Tylenol Scholarship is one of the largest merit scholarship programs for health-related studies in

the United States and the only scholarship available to all U.S. residents pursuing health-related fields at any post-high school level.

Scholarship America, a nonprofit educational support and student aid service organization, administers the scholarship, which is awarded in conjunction with local retailers, and is responsible for evaluating applications and selecting scholarship recipients. It chooses the winners for their leadership skills, grade point average and focus on healthcarerelated areas of study.

Courtney Hentges

Amanda Sonnier senior was caught offguard. “I was shocked,” Sonnier says. “She acted like I already knew.”

The shock continued in October at the IFMA World Workplace conference in Salt Lake City.

Sonnier knew she had received the maximum award but thought others had as well.

sionals in facility management,” she says. “It was neat to meet all those different people and get their different perspectives.”

Sonnier applied for the scholarship over the summer, completing an application of essays and references in a week.

Sixteen other undergraduate and graduate

research for enhancing the facility management field. Various individuals, corporations and IFMA chapters and councils contribute to the scholarship program. The Foundation has awarded more than $200,000 in scholarships since 1991.

Cory Cheney

Oklahoma State University

Erika Contreras

“The opportunity to work in different apparel departments was one of the most rewarding aspects of my job,” she says. “My favorite was the Very Sexy Department where I created patterns and motifs for their textiles and final garments.”

Marcie Montgomery

The Inside View For two students in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, the summer of 2004 was more than just a break from school.

Chris Weil, hotel and restaurant administration senior, and Marcy Montgomery, design, housing and merchandising graduate, worked internships that gave them a taste of the business world and a chance to gain valuable work experience.

Weil obtained a position at the Broadmoor resort and hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he worked as a concierge interacting with customers to ensure their stay was comfortable and enjoyable.

“The experience allowed me the opportunity to know what it’s like to work for a five-star resort,” he says.

“Proper language and manners are heavily emphasized.”

College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

Interesting to Weil is that the concierge department, where he worked, operates primarily without computers.

“This means everything is done mostly by hand, and it took a little getting used to,” he says. “But the ability to interact with customers on a more personal level was one of the most satisfying parts of my job.”

With solid work experience under their belts, both Weil and Montgomery say they are ready for what the future holds. Weil will graduate this May and plans to return to Colorado and work to gain additional training in his field.

As a third generation in food service management, Weil plans to own and manage his own food company someday.

Montgomery, who graduated in December 2004, plans to work in the intimate apparel industry and eventually become a design director for an apparel company.

Both Weil and Montgomery say their OSU education, along with the work experience gained through their internships, helped prepare them for careers in their respective industries.

As CHES students, they took advantage of career fairs and networking opportunities.

Weil is involved with various HRAD clubs and is the current president of the CHES student council, and Montgomery worked as a research assistant in the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising.

Both say getting involved in school activities was vital in making contacts and learning about available job opportunities. Building relationships with faculty members was another important step in shaping their career interests, they say.

Alanna Bradley

Erika Contreras

Montgomery ventured a little farther north for her internship. After landing a position with Victoria’s Secret design studio, Montgomery traveled to New York City where she worked in the heart of the fashion industry.

She spent eight weeks rotating through the various departments inside Victoria’s Secret design studio. She spent time working in the Print and Color, Trends and the Very Sexy departments.

Chris Weil

Erika Contreras

Student Council — CHES Student Council promotes involvement within CHES and on the OSU campus. The group supports the work of other CHES student organizations, encourages interaction between faculty and students and coordinates activities with other university groups and student councils. The council consists of executive officers, activity chairpersons and student organization representatives.

Talented, accessible faculty, strong academic programs

© 2005. Daily O’Collegian

Leadership Development and exciting internship possibilities are not the only opportunities students find in the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

CHES also helps students hone their leadership skills through vigorous student organizations such as the CHES Student Council and the CHES Ambassadors.

Nutritional sciences student Lauren Detten, shown here with running mate Kelly Barnes, has been elected president of the OSU Student Government Association for the 2005-2006 academic year.

Detten served as vice-president of SGA in the 2004-2005 academic year.

CHES Ambassadors — The CHES Ambassadors are students engaged in strategic leadership teams that focus on peer mentoring and instruction within orientation courses; connecting with employers, alumni, donors, and friends; and articulating the CHES undergraduate programs to prospective students.

Erika Contreras

Oklahoma State University

More Than Meets the Palate Paul Sorrentino is unequivocal about the distinguished chef series. “I live for this event,” he says.

Jimmy Mays, hotel and restaurant administration student

Chef Michael Garbin of the Union League Club of Chicago

Sorrentino’s enthusiasm is understandable.

The Distinguished Chef Scholarship Benefit Series, a tradition in the College of Human Environmental Sciences since 1992, showcases outstanding guest chefs and their cuisine.

Patrons enjoy the great food, and the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration makes good use of funds the dinner tickets raise for student scholarships.

For Sorrentino, HRAD instructor and general manager of the hospitality labs, the event holds other charms. The chef series gives him the opportunity to guide student managers through the intricacies of planning and managing an event — no small feat for students who are charged with coordinating a simultaneous dinner for 250.

“The department chooses the chef,” Sorrentino says, “but student managers handle the pre-work set up, coordinate the menu and wine and work with the chef to create a schedule and supervise production.”

Student managers use all the professionalism and organizational and managerial skills they’ve studied in Food Production Management and Service Management in Hospitality Operations, two HRAD courses required before students can be managers.

The chef series uses five student managers.

Two shepherd some 44 students in the front of the house, and two others guide another 44 students working in the back of the house. A student manager also serves as wine manager.

“The chef series dinner is very impressive on student résumés. It says they know how to manage special events,” Sorrentino says. “They know they can’t make a mistake, not at $200 a plate. This event gives them hands-on, realworld experience.”

Eileen Mustain

10 College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

Collaboration Enriches Student Experience A collaborative program between the College of Human Environmental Sciences and a Stillwater elementary school is proving a boon to early childhood education majors and their young students.

The Human Development and Family Science Department began the program with Richmond Elementary School’s kindergarten through third-grade classrooms in 2003 as a complement to its core courses, Guidance and Classroom Management and Integrated Curriculums.

“We developed the partnership with Richmond to enhance our students’ field experience so that by the time they begin their student teaching, they are very, very prepared. From their early courses to their admittance to the professional education component of the curriculum to the time they graduate, our students put in over 1,000 hours in classrooms working with children,” says Linda Sheeran, HDFS coordinator of field experience.

“Our students will work alongside Richmond teachers and see them in action in the first part of the day all photos Erika Contreras

because moving students from morning classroom activities to the playground and back can lead to difficulties,” Sheeran says. “The students and I then meet in an empty classroom and talk about what they saw and how it all relates to theories about guidance and classroom management.”

Returning to the Richmond classrooms to apply techniques discussed as a class leads to very powerful learning experiences for her students, Sheeran says.

Students learning curriculum integration spend three hours a week in Richmond classrooms.

“They see how teachers take a common theme and integrate all the subjects — science, math, social studies — to make the learning experience all the more meaningful for the children,” she says. “They’re working side-by-side with the teachers and seeing best practices modeled live.”

Gay Washington, principal of Richmond Elementary, says the HDFS students have become a welcomed addition to classes.

“The more one-on-one time young students have with a teacher, the more progress they make. The OSU students are here an entire semester so our students truly develop a relationship with them and grow dependent on them,” she says, noting that accommodating the HDFS students does not conflict with the school’s priorities.

“The OSU students’ activities as required in their coursework follow our curriculum,” Washington says. “They get the opportunity to develop and actually teach a lesson. We know we’re providing hands-on experience for practicing teachers under the eye of our master teachers and helping to enhance their educational experience, but it’s not an add-on for us.

“It’s still a part of what happens naturally in curriculum integration.”

Adam Huffer

Early childhood education juniors Emily Wilson, left, and Megan Chancellor, right, gain valuable experience working with second-grade teacher Jane Spencer and her students at Richmond Elementary School in Stillwater.

Oklahoma State University 11

Joe Ong Erika Contreras

Becky Steen McCaskill and OSU President David Schmidly

New Center Opens Doors to Success The Becky Steen McCaskill Center for Student Success, with its spirited orange and black décor, welcomed students to the 2004 fall semester. Whether checking their schedules or grades on the computers located in the reception area or making appointments for career development and advisement sessions, students are keeping the center busy.

Erika Contreras

Shiretta Ownbey, associate dean for academic programs and services, and Chris Weil, hotel and restaurant administration student

12 College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

The new Becky Steen McCaskill Center for Student Success is the first stop for prospective students and their parents to learn about the programs and degrees offered in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. But that’s likely to be a CHES student’s first of many visits to the center.

helping new students make the transition to OSU to providing career development counseling.

Located on the first floor of the CHES building, the Becky Steen McCaskill Center for Student Success is a developmental and academic advising center that provides an array of student services from recruitment to

“The center provides student-centered developmental academic advising for incoming freshmen, sophomores and undergraduate transfer students.

The center’s vision is to elevate academic advising and enhance

“In order to improve student success, advisors should be actively involved in academic and career planning for each student,” says Shiretta Ownbey, associate dean for academic programs and services.

Staff members at the center provide guidance for CHES leadership development groups, such as student council, student ambassadors and Scholar Leaders. Also housed at the center is the career services office where students receive help securing good jobs in their fields.

“The Center for Student Success is the primary tool to ensure a solid foundation for CHES students’ collegiate careers,” says alumna Becky Steen McCaskill.

“Engaging students in this com-

prehensive process will greatly enhance their opportunities for future professional achievements as well.”

Student success is important to McCaskill, who has been an active supporter of the college since she received her bachelor’s degree in merchandising in 1983. She has served as the president of the CHES Alumni Board of Directors and as a member of the CHES Associates Executive Committee. Through her leadership, the CHES Alumni Board of Directors established and funded an endowed scholarship for incoming freshmen.

Joe Ong

the first-year experience while also facilitating leadership development,” Ownbey says.

McCaskill continues to find ways to enhance CHES student experiences through her involvement in recruitment activities, scholarship promotion and alumni relations.

It was while supporting CHES efforts to recruit and retain students that she became interested in the Center for Student Success.

Tom and Becky McCaskill

Successful herself as a student, McCaskill served on the Dean’s Speakers Bureau for the College and on the OSU Homecoming Steering Committee, cheered for the Cowboys on the OSU varsity pompon squad and was an active member of Chi Omega.

The prospect of helping undergraduates enjoy their experiences at OSU and build better plans for the future through career development thrilled McCaskill and her husband Tom, owners of McCaskill Financial Group in Oklahoma City.

Ann Hentges, senior office assistant, and Chris Watkins, hotel and restaurant administration student

Julie Barnard and Jim Mitchell Erika Contreras

Kristi Thrift, director of student academic services, and Allison Goodman, hotel and restaurant administration student

Oklahoma State University 13

New Developments New Club Steeped in Cowboy Tradition A total face-lift of the State Room Grille will launch a five-star dining facility in OSU’s Student Union and complete the Atherton Hotel renovations begun three years ago. In the best cowboy spirit, the new Rancher’s Club will reflect the area’s agricultural heritage in food and décor.

The arrival of Executive Chef Ben Coffin in fall 2004 assures the quality cuisine the new Rancher’s Club will offer, Barnard says. “A restaurant can have a great design and be a beautiful facility, but food is basic,” he says. “If the food isn’t good, no one will want to go there.”

“Plans for the Rancher’s Club call for an upscale, themed restaurant patterned after an elegant steakhouse,” says Jim Barnard, Atherton manager and lead designer on the project. “We want a restaurant that will complement the hotel.”

Coffin, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, London, and OSU’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration, has many years of experience as a chef in the U.S. and Europe, including the Connaught Hotel in London and banquets for the Duke of Norfolk. He was most recently owner of Bespoke in Guthrie, Okla.

Donor gifts, totaling nearly $1 million, support the restaurant renovation, which is slated to begin in May and finish in September. The Rancher’s Club will seat 80 when completed.

© 2005. The Oklahoma Publishing Company

Leather, wood and sandstone will highlight the restaurant’s ranch-style décor.

The 20 booths of founding members will display the names, brands and paintings of their ranches. Founders who don’t own ranches will have historic campus scenes decorating their areas, Barnard says.

14 College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

Coffin manages the newly instituted Rancher’s Club catering division of the Atherton Hotel, which has become so popular it’s catering off site now, Barnard says.

“Every restaurant goes through a maturing process. We want that process to take place beforehand. The success of Rancher’s Club catering gets the concept out there well before we open,” he says.

Although it will include fowl and vegetarian items, the Rancher’s Club menu will emphasize beef, including Coffin’s signature cut. To guarantee consistency and quality, all the beef will be from Excel and aged and cut to specification in the OSU Food and Agricultural Products Center, says Pat Moreo, head of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration.

“The restaurant will serve breakfast for hotel guests and remain a teaching and practice restaurant during lunchtime,” he says.

“Lunch will continue to be student operated with the same State Room Grille menu, but on Wednesday through Saturday nights the Rancher’s Club will operate with its dinner menu and professional staff and will require reservations.”

Students will shadow the Rancher’s Club professional staff, Moreo says. “We believe it’s important for our students to be exposed to the ultimate in culinary arts.”

Eileen Mustain

Ben Coffin, chef

The designer’s renderings of the new Rancher’s Club show the display for ranchers’ hats and the ranch-style décor.

Memories That Last When Ken and Kenda Diehm sought a long-lasting memorial to honor a beloved aunt and uncle, they chose to establish an endowed scholarship.

“We wanted to provide an ongoing benefit to students in the College of Human Environmental Sciences and pay tribute to my loving and generous aunt and uncle,” Diehm says.

They believe they have succeeded in accomplishing both wishes with the $25,000 William and Josephine Diehm Endowed Scholarship fund.

Both William and Josephine came from Oklahoma rural roots, growing up in the small community of Red Rock, just north of Stillwater. William attended OSU on a basketball scholarship, and Josephine graduated with a teaching degree from the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha.

After marriage, they moved to Oklahoma City where they lived for more than 50 years. William was the butcher at the historical landmark Kamp’s Grocery Store, where he always extended a friendly greeting or a helping hand. Josephine, who was always a firm believer in the power of an education, taught mathematics in the Oklahoma City school system for 40 years, retiring from Harding Junior High.

Although Ken and Kenda Diehm now live in Arlington, Texas, where he is pastor of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, both he and Kenda are Oklahoma natives. Kenda received her degree in interior design at OSU in 1980.

The Diehms set up the scholarship in CHES because they believed the college programs best reflect their aunt and uncle, William as a cook and butcher and Josephine as a teacher and a seamstress.

Mark Webster courtesy

William and Josephine Diehm

Oklahoma State University 15

Faculty Achievement Erika Contreras

Co-investigators Donna Branson, Semra Peksor and Cheryl Farr show an early prototype of the body armor. shrapnel thrown by grenades or improvised explosives.

Despite its lightweight feel and look, scientists say the polyethylene molecules that make up the fibers of Dyneema are 15 times stronger than steel. Properly layered, the material rapidly absorbs and spreads explosive energy, protecting vulnerable arteries, joints and nerve bundles.

‘Arming’ Our Troops “It feels close to me, like it’s

part of me. I think it will really help protect me and other soldiers,” says Sgt. Ryan Wallace with the OSU Army ROTC.

“We started developing the prototype in May 2004 with our partner company, FSTechnology, LLC., and our funding partner, the Naval Research Laboratory,” says Donna Branson, head of the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising and 2004 Regents Distinguished Research Award recipient.

16 College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

“The most important goal for the first prototype was to provide protection against ballistic damage to the arms and legs, while minimizing heat stress and weight.” She says the same goal applies to the second prototype, which simply covers a larger area of the body to provide a higher level of protection.

The heavier of the two prototypes weighs 10 pounds.

The suits are made of multiple layers of a ballistic cloth known as Dyneema, a commercially available fabric used to provide protection from

Because military hospital personnel often deal directly with battlefield limb injuries, they were among those who also provided feedback. Branson and her fellow researchers, Cheryl Farr, associate professor, and Semra Peksoz, assistant professor, asked Wallace to demonstrate the movements of a soldier in a combat zone so they could observe the actions up-close.

After several hours in the armored suit, Wallace says he was impressed. “The suit didn’t restrict my movement at all, whether I was running, rolling or signaling. Unlike our backpacks, you forget you even have the body armor on.”

According to Branson, earlier feedback from field studies has already allowed the team to make some important adjustments to the suit. “It gives us a clearer picture of the different tasks that soldiers might perform and helps us envision variations based on those tasks and the specific level of protection necessary.”

The research team has coordinated with companies in Oklahoma, North Carolina and New York to be ready to start production, as soon as it is approved.

Jim Mitchell

The final prototype armored suit, modeled

by OSU Army ROTC Sgt. Ryan Wallace, offers soldiers the best protection from injuries to arms and legs and is designed to integrate with the existing bullet-proof vest like the one Wallace is wearing.

Erika Contreras

His assessment of the body armor prototype pleases researchers in the College of Human Environmental Sciences who recently unveiled two new body armor systems to offer soldiers more protection against arm and leg injuries.

“Rapid development was one of our project goals, and we’ve completed what could be a final design in fewer than eight months with the potential for quick production and distribution,” Branson says.

“We wanted to strategically position the armor on both prototypes to provide the greatest protection to soldiers while ensuring their freedom of movement and comfort from the heat,” says Branson, who notes that both prototypes have already been put to the test at various Naval and Army Research Laboratories around the country.

While Wallace admits it may take some time to get used to the slightly different appearance provided by the armor, he says that’s no problem. “I can certainly handle the ‘new look’ considering the level of protection it offers me.”

Nick Bormann

The Real Deal From finding real-world clients for classroom projects to initiating a new national exhibition for design faculty, students and faculty agree Carol Bormann is an obvious choice for the 2004 Regents Distinguished Teaching Award.

Human Environmental Sciences for 14 years. She currently teaches, serves as interior design program coordinator, advises undergraduate and graduate students and is faculty adviser for the OSU Student Chapter of the International Facilities Management Association.

The associate professor in the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising was a professional interior designer for 17 years before she began teaching. Since then, she has established a reputation for training future designers by challenging them with client-oriented projects.

Bormann also created and coordinated the Design Educators National Exhibition, an annual event that provides a competitive venue for design faculty across the country to submit their design scholarship for peer review, exhibition and publication.

“While others extol the virtues of cooperative and collaborative learning, Carol has long been successful in proposing and implementing such projects within the curriculum,” says Theodore Drab, associate professor of interior design.

Students say Bormann’s willingness to risk restructuring her class to give them a better learning experience will help them excel in their profession.

For instance, while nationally known interior designer Janine James of New York City served as a visiting professor at OSU, Bormann adjusted her own Studio III class projects to incorporate the methodology James uses in her design firm.

“Thanks to her, students meet with real clients each semester to discuss a real project in a real building with real problems and real opportunities.”

Bormann’s class projects over the years have included the Marland Mansion in Ponca City, the Pawnee Tribal Lands Buildings Project, the Ambassador Hotel in Tulsa and the Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City.

She has been a faculty member in the College of

Carol Bormann, associate professor of design, housing and merchandising and recipient of the 2004 Regents Distinguished Teaching Award, believes it is the teacher’s job to devise methods to stimulate students to learn. “My concern is that they become knowledgeable of the subject matter and skillful in its application, but above all students need to know how to learn, to grow in their ability to synthesize all aspects and not be afraid to take a chance with something that is new or unexplored.”

“In a field where it is easy for a teacher to just tell students to take risks, think outside the box and be innovative, she has led by example,” says student Emily Boozer. “Her actions prove that risks and creativity, though challenging, are worthwhile in the end.”

Courtney Hentges

Oklahoma State University 17

Laura Hubbs-Tait

Turning Passion to Product Head Start has been Laura Hubbs-Tait’s passion since she was 15 and spent the summer teaching children in Ebenezer Baptist Church in Austin.

Later, as a psychology major at the University of Michigan, she worked with pre-K and elementary children in a federal housing project in Philadelphia.

“It’s always been an interest of mine to work with economically deprived children,” she says.

After receiving her master’s and doctorate degrees from Boston University and completing post-doctoral study at the University of Texas at Austin, HubbsTait joined OSU, where as the John and Sue Taylor Professor in human development and family science she’s putting her passion to work.

Neurotoxicants, Nutrition, Social Environments and Behavior Hubbs-Tait has taken the lead in working with researchers from Texas A&M

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University, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health to discover how neurotoxicants, micronutrients and the social environment interact to affect children’s development. They are looking specifically at how lead, mercury, cadmium and manganese exposure in children affect their cognition and behavior.

“The interactions of neurotoxicants with social environments and nutrition suggest that children with poorer nutrient status and social environments may be more at risk from neurotoxicant exposure,” HubbsTait says. “Understanding why these children have more problems is essential for effective treatment and precise policy.”

American Indian Families She and her husband, David Tait, along with colleagues Charley Hare and Erron Huey, recently looked at the effects of assimilation attempts that separated children from their families and sent them to boarding schools.

“Nobody had really integrated the information about the history of the boarding schools for Indian children and its damage with the involvement of Indian families in schools today,” Hubbs-Tait says.

According to Hubbs-Tait, sending children to boarding schools still has an effect from several generations back.

“One of the concerns is that interrupting the transmission of parenting skills from generation to generation may affect more than one generation of relationships. Changes in language or expression of emotion may be passed along for more than one generation.”

With the help of Huey and undergraduate student Jennifer Keranen-Ogan, Hubbs-Tait and Tait have also looked at data on16 pairs of children who had attended Head Start and had been promoted to kindergarten.

“We found that there were different types of involvement by Native American and white mothers that predicted success,” she says.

Learning activities at home with the Native American mothers best predicted Native American children’s language skills at the end of kindergarten. In contrast, mothers’ responsiveness to teacher requests for information about their children was related to the language skills of white children at the end of kindergarten.

Ethiopia Project Hubbs-Tait and co-investigators Barbara Stoecker and Tay Kennedy from nutritional sciences and David Thomas from psychology are examining the effects of maternal zinc intake on the brain development of infants in rural Ethiopia.

They are developing a method to assess “novelty preference” in the field, which is significant because it predicts later IQ. She is also consulting on techniques to assess maternal cognitive functioning and mood. “This is a complex problem, not only because of cultural and language differences but also because most of the women participating in our study have no formal education,” she says.

The group has already discovered that pregnant women’s zinc status is very poor.

“We are very concerned that this subsistence-level diet is harming families for

generations. If there isn’t sufficient nutritional health, the brain is not going to develop, and we will see deficiencies in everything the child does for the rest of his or her life,” Hubbs-Tait says.

Head Start In 2002, she and her graduate assistants looked at positive parenting practices that promote children’s success in school and compiled a family risk index. They identified four risk factors and found that attendance in Head Start offset all four.

Better attendance in Head Start resulted in children from higher risk families having better language skills.

“The more days the kids attended, the better the language skills were at the end of the Head Start year,” she says. “This is wonderful news about the importance of Head Start.”

Since 2001, Hubbs-Tait and her graduate assistants have had a contract with some United CAP Head Start centers to evaluate language abilities of about 150 children at the beginning and end of each year.

“We tell the parents how their children are doing, and encourage them to contact the teachers,” Hubbs-Tait says.

They also give parents website resources to help their children, and Head Start has teachers available to talk with parents. This year they told parents that the children whose parents reported reading to them at bedtime scored higher on vocabulary tests as did the children whose parents reported expressing affection and praise.

“Kids who are at highest risk are those whose parents don’t provide much positive support,” she says. “For example, they don’t tell their children what a great job they are doing when they are working on projects at home. We are so pleased that many Head Start parents are providing this positive feedback and emotional support.”

Last fall Hubbs-Tait was asked to speak at the dedication of the new Stillwater Head Start facility. After her presentation, Ronda Brothers, Head Start director, announced the new facility would be dedicated in Hubbs-Tait’s honor.

“It was a total surprise to me that they had dedicated it to me,” Hubbs-Tait says.

“I started crying. All my friends in United CAP Head Start’s central office and at Stillwater Head Start said the look on my face was priceless, and they were very pleased with themselves for keeping the secret. I was delighted and overwhelmed.”

Dottie Witter

Laura Hubbs-Tait reads to 4- and 5-year-olds in teacher Amanda Driskel’s class at the Stillwater Head Start. all photos Erika Contreras Oklahoma Oklahoma State State University University 19 19

Seeking Help for Overweight Children OSU researchers hope to pinpoint the best methods for fighting childhood obesity so they can ultimately share them with schools.

Why is such research important?

“Studies show overweight children have a much greater likelihood of becoming overweight adults, and some scientists are predicting that obesity will soon surpass smoking as the number one healthrelated killer in the U.S.,” according to Amanda Harrist, associate professor in human development and family science and the project’s principal investigator.

Harrist and the research team, faculty and students in the College of Human Environmental Sciences, have been awarded a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to test the effectiveness of three obesity intervention programs among groups of first-graders in schools around Stillwater. They want to find the method or combination of methods that work best to decrease obesity while improving a child’s psychological and social functioning.

“It may be that only one of the three intervention methods we’ll study will be the

20 College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

best for us to recommend to schools with limited resources, but it could be that some combination is really best. That’s what sets this study apart from others — we’ll be able to follow-up over the next two years with the same students to see what has a lasting impact,” Harrist says.

The three-year study, scheduled to start in fall 2005, will include a type of peer group intervention made up of overweight students and their classmates, a type of family-dynamics intervention that will involve parents and a third type of intervention that will rely more on traditional exercise and nutritional education.

“We’ll employ various combinations of methods with some of the 30 groups of first-graders we’ll be studying. What we want to find is the best investment that a school or a community can make in terms of these various methods.”

According to Harrist, shorter-term studies may show some effectiveness in certain areas such as exercise and weight loss but all progress may be lost six months to a year later. She wants the research to tackle the psychological and social variables that come into play.

“For instance, if a peer group component is added to an intervention, we’ll be able to see whether that really helps increase the good long-term effects of a child’s weight loss,” she says.

“We’ll target specific problems that overweight children often experience in interacting with other students and their parents. Some students deal with overindulging parents, while others come from homes where they don’t receive a lot of affection. That’s why we want to look at emotional eating habits, selfesteem, school attendance and feelings about friendships as well as the weight factor,” Harrist says.

Rated number one among submissions nationally, OSU received the USDA grant. Others involved in the research include Glade Topham, assistant professor, and Laura Hubbs-Tait, professor, in human development and family science; Tay Kennedy, assistant professor in nutritional sciences; and Melaine Page, associate professor of psychology.

Jim Mitchell

The Kids Aren’t All Right

For the Health of Oklahoma

As many as two-thirds of the children in Oklahoma who need mental health services aren’t getting them, according to some estimates. Researchers in the College of Human Environmental Sciences will use a $125,000 grant from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation to learn why.

“It is estimated that as many as one in five children need mental health delivery services, and around 13 percent of them have serious emotional disturbances that require help,” says Glade Topham, assistant professor of human development and family science.

“We know children ages 3 to 10 who exhibit a variety of problems that go untreated will have greater afflictions later on,” he says. “Many will develop antisocial behaviors and end up in the criminal justice system.”

Commissioned by the Oklahoma Academy, CHES conducted a random-sample survey of Oklahoma elementary schools to provide an overview of school nutritional policies and practices. The Bureau of Social Research surveyed 304 schools in September 2003 using

the areas of food services, nutrition, education and physical activity of children in grades three through five.

The study’s short-term goal is to identify schools that can be used as models of innovative student nutrition and exercise policies, and the longterm goal is to identify elementary schools that can improve their practices and, if successful, be used as model schools in replication programs.

Results of the study identify best practices in three categories —

this study. It is important to identify these schools and give them proper recognition, allowing them to be models for other schools across the state,” says Bill McKamey chair of the Oklahoma Academy and vice president of external affairs for PSO. The Oklahoma Academy for State Goals recognized the schools in each category from each community with “Academy Awards.”

The Oklahoma Academy is a private, nonpartisan citizen-based organization that focuses all photos Erika Contreras

Serving as principal investigators on the study with Topham are human development and family science faculty members Kathleen Briggs, associate professor and head of the department, Charles Hendrix, associate professor, David Fournier, professor, and four graduate students.

The Oklahoma Academy for State Goals has formed a partnership with the College of Human Environmental Sciences to improve the nutritional standards of Oklahomans, starting at an early age.

“We believe we need to get children into treatment early to prevent greater repercussions down the line,” Topham says.

The study will focus on people in disadvantaged areas of Tulsa, where interviewers will visit with parents about what prevents them from getting help and explore topics from transportation difficulty and cost of services to social stigmas and the parents’ perceptions of treatment effectiveness.

The researchers will develop and share a comprehensive report with a number of different parties in Tulsa including residential care, daily outpatient facilities, parent education centers and the Zarrow Foundation to help it determine where to focus future resources.

“We also believe policy makers will find our report useful in directing resources and forming policy to make treatment more accessible,” Topham says.

Adam Huffer

telephone interviews that evaluated nutrition and exercise practices.

Tay Kennedy, nutritional sciences assistant professor, and Christine Johnson, director of the Bureau for Social Research, drew upon two national studies to develop the Oklahoma survey, which focuses on policies and practices in

vending machine practices, physical activity and nutrition policies, and overall healthy practices — from three communitysize areas, metropolitan, micropolitan and rural.

“We are most appreciative of the important work done by OSU’s College of Human Environmental Sciences and its willingness to partner with us for

on critical issues facing the state. Through its annual Town Hall conference, it develops public policy findings and recommendations on these issues. For more information, contact the Academy at 405-232-5828 or www.okacademy.org.

Julie Knutson

Oklahoma State University 21

CHES Helps Rural Schools Create Health Programs Two of Oklahoma’s rural elementary schools, one in Cherokee County and one in Delaware County, have embraced programs brought to them by the OSU Cooperative Extension Service and faculty from the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

It isn’t surprising. The communities set the focus and the programs’ objectives.

In each case, OSU project coordinators conducted individual interviews and focus groups in the community. The information culled from those meetings became the directives for planning the “New Communities Project.”

Five CHES faculty members — Barbara Brown, Janice Hermann, Stephany Parker, Youmasu Siewe and Brenda Smith — spearheaded the initiative.

“The objective is to create a change for better health,” says Hermann, noting the Cooperative State Research Education Extension Service inspired the two projects. “CSREES goes into a community and starts something the community will sustain. What’s important is that it’s something the community wants.”

The funding comes from grants from the “Children, Youth and Families at Risk” program, one of many such enterprises orchestrated by CSREES. The program creates a partnership between CSREES and the nation’s land-grant universities, taking advantage of the cooperative extension

22 College of Human Environmental Sciences 2005

system to assist in the delivery of educational programs to limited-resource families and youth who are at risk.

“They come up with the idea and we create something for them to take over when we’re finished,” says Hermann. “Both sites have come up with different programs.”

CHES faculty developed a program stressing personal fitness goals and health education. Once a week, the county’s New Communities Project coordinator goes into the school for a 15-minute presentation on holistic issues such as personal safety, hygiene, substance abuse prevention and others.

The program initiated circuit training into the physical education class (an activity the school’s physical education instructor has already incorporated in the regular class).

Each student spends two minutes per station then moves to the next. The workout lasts for approximately 25 minutes.

“It keeps them moving,” says Hermann.

The program includes journaling and personal fitness goal-setting as a way for Courtesy photo

students to “meet their personal fitness goals without competition,” she says.

The school in Delaware County decided on a program addressing the students’ lack of physical activity, poor nutrition and inadequate food preparation skills. The school offered OSU project coordinators a building complete with kitchen, bathroom facilities and a small piece of land.

OSU faculty created an after-school gardening program that has been embraced by the school and the community. Parents, the Delaware County Master Gardeners and several Native American elders, who are tying in culture with natural gardening, all contribute to the garden, says Hermann.

“The students learn about gardening and nutrition while they get the added benefit of being active as they learn. It’s hands-on education,” Hermann says. “They’ve learned a lot about fruits and vegetables in their diet.”

The education is translating to the cafeteria. The school’s principal says use of the salad bar has doubled.

“The food service workers are making an effort to use produce from the garden in the salad bar. We’re seeing the whole school buy in,” says Hermann.

The school’s principal has secured a grant to build a greenhouse in the garden area after the current project culminates. The school’s science teacher volunteered to take responsibility for the greenhouse and has incorporated its use into the class curriculum.

The garden has also been considered as an alternative revenue source to the school’s vending machines. During the holidays, the school sold poinsettias from the garden.

“I think the gardening approach will sustain itself in some way,” she says.

Both programs are still in progress, the final results yet to be recorded, but Hermann thinks the initiatives put in place by the programs will continue. She sees the pursuit of additional funding for the greenhouse on the gardening project and the adoption of the circuit training into the physical education class as positive signs.

She believes community involvement in the projects was instrumental to the programs’ success. “They have been involved in creating what happened,” Hermann says.

“They are personally invested in the outcome.”

Cory Cheney

These students in a rural Oklahoma school are learning about nutrition through gardening.

Alumni Success Building the Orange Connection Grandparents and grandchildren got a taste of Italy at the 2004 Grandparent University.

know the simplest things about their loved ones,” Robertson says. “These activities were designed to strengthen their relationships and help them learn things about one another.”

The program, put on by the OSU Alumni Association for OSU graduates and their grandchildren, included two days of living in residence halls and attending special classes taught by OSU faculty.

Each student chose the major he or she would study.

The College of Human Environmental Sciences offered a food and family science major, which included one day of lessons on building relationships between grandparents and grandchildren and one day of cooking in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration’s cooking lab.

During the second day’s activities, the students learned about the history of Italian food, culture and recipes from Peter Dimicelli, HRAD doctoral student and graduate teaching assistant.

photos courtesy of the OSU Alumni Association

Dressed in aprons and orange kerchiefs, each grandparent and grandchild pair prepared a different recipe and then everyone got to taste each of the dishes at the end of the day. The dishes included salad, salad dressing, cannelloni, two sauces and Zeppolis for dessert.

“Keiki + Kupuna = Kool,” which loosely translates to grandparent and grandchild in Hawaiian, was taught by Lance Robertson, director of CHES Extension. During this day, the Keikis and Kupunas drew pictures of their favorite activities together, conducted interviews with each other and set up relationship goals.

As a graduation gift, the children received potted basil plants, so they could have fresh basil to use when preparing the recipes at home.

“The kids and the grandparents had a blast,” Dimicelli says.

“I received many thank-you notes from people who want to come back again next year.”

“Often people consider their relationship strong but don’t

Courtney Hentges

2005 Membership Information

Oklahoma State University Alumni Association / College of Human Environmental Sciences / Membership Application Join the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association, and a portion of your membership will go back to the college to fund programs such as homecoming and other alumni events. Membership questions? Call (800) 433-4678.

Check one: 1-Year Single................ ■ $45 Joint................ ■ $55 (Gift is tax deductable)

Life ■ $750 ■ $1,000

Payment: (please circle one of the following) Check Visa MasterCard (payable to OSUAA)

Name

College/grad. yr./major

Address City

State

Place of employment

E-mail

Spouse’s Name

College/grad. yr./major

Zip

Credit Card No. Place of employment Expiration date

Signature

(all credit card applications must be signed) Oklahoma State University 23

Please return to: College of Human Environmental Sciences / P.O. Box 577 / Stillwater, Oklahoma 74076-0577

CHES Alumni of Distinction The College of Human Environmental Sciences honored five alumni in 2004: Juanita L. “Bobbie” Nofflet and Marilynn Thoma are the Distinguished Alumni Award recipients; Cheryl L. Kingsley is the Rising Star Award recipient;

Joe Ong

and James D. Carreker and the late Gordon Carlson are the college’s Honorary Alumni Award recipients. a vice president of marketing for a cellular phone network are among the highlights of her career.

Thoma, who grew up in Woodward, was active in the 4-H Club and served as Oklahoma FFA Sweetheart in 1965-66. She graduated from OSU in 1970 after earning honors as a Top Ten Freshman, Mortar Board, vice president and rush chairman for the Chi Omega sorority as well as a writer for the Daily O’Collegian.

She received a master’s in business administration from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 1974.

Rising Star Cheryl L. Kingsley graduated from OSU in 1998 with a degree emphasizing interior design and facilities management.

Kingsley has already had ample opportunity to put it to work. Kingsley was employed as an interior designer for IA Interior Architects, Inc. in Dallas, where she served clients from the investment to healthcare fields.

Distinguished Alumni Bobbie Nofflet served as an elementary school teacher in Oklahoma before graduating from OSU in 1948 with a degree in design, housing and merchandising. She spent much of her early career establishing life improvement programs for students in impoverished areas throughout the U.S. In the 1960s, Nofflet became an advisor with the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID), helping to train over 12,000 women leaders in Vietnam to improve their family lives and communities.

She was a catalyst for the Vietnam orphan lift at the end of the war.

24 College of Human Environmental Sciences 2004

Honorees James Carreker and Bobbie Nofflet, left, and Marilynn Thoma, right, appear with Dean Patricia Knaub at the 2004 Alumni Awards Ceremony.

Her work with the agency continued after the conflict as she helped plan and implement various disaster relief and social welfare programs for individuals from refugees to disaster victims in Indonesia and Thailand.

Marilynn Thoma is the proprietor of Van Duzer Vineyards, a winery she runs with her husband in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. She is the recipient of many design awards for marketing materials associated with the beverage industry. Work as a brand manager with Quaker Oats and service as

She currently works for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas as a facilities planning coordinator.

Honorary Alumni James D. Carreker began his career as a management trainee for Sanger-Harris Department Stores after graduating with a degree in marketing from OSU in 1970 and a master’s in business administration in 1972.

He earned numerous promotions in the department store and hotel management fields and became the managing general partner and president of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of the Bombay Company.

Joe Ong

A Great Teacher Continues to Instruct For 20 years, interior design professor Chris Salmon modeled professional excellence, inspiring student dreams and innovations in the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising.

Erika Contreras

Cheryl Kingsley, left, and A.J. Griffin, president of the CHES Alumni Board of Directors, display the plaque Kingsley received as the 2004 Rising Star award recipient.

Carreker’s contribution of his time on the CHES Associates Executive Committee and the HRAD Board of Advisers as well as his generous gifts to CHES and OSU make him a natural choice for this award.

Today, the memory of the three-time winner of OSU’s Outstanding Teaching Award continues to motivate students and faculty through an endowment in her honor.

CHES honored the late Gordon R. Carlson, an OSU College of Arts and Sciences geology alumnus, for his many contributions to the college.

The Chris Salmon Endowed Professorship brings to campus renowned design practitioners, scientists and educators whose discussions with students and faculty enhance DHM’s educational programs.

Carlson’s donations have made extensive technology and physical updates possible for the large demonstration classroom at CHES. He also funded an endowed scholarship in nutritional sciences and provided a gift to refurbish Taylor’s Dining Room.

The impact is immediate and significant.

The visits of interior designer Janine James, the first Salmon professor, inspired three DHM faculty members to prepare a proposal that received National Science Foundation funding to develop a course to teach the Cradle to Cradle philosophy and the properties of textiles and interior products that impact sustainability.

Carlson was successful in the oil and investment business and especially enjoyed cooking French foods. His estate continues to provide opportunities for faculty and students at CHES. Jim Mitchell

Dean Patricia Knaub travels across campus in the Dean Mobile donated by Gordon Carlson, whom CHES honored posthumously in 2004 by naming him an honorary alumnus.

When DHM first offered the new class in fall 2004, the Salmon professor was

Michael Braungart, chemist, eco-designer and co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, pictured below at center. Since then, DHM faculty and graduate students have submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency two new proposals in the area of design sustainability.

Named the 2004 designer of the year by Contract magazine, Shashi Caan, pictured above at center, presented students and faculty new processes and methods to foster imagination.

Caan’s visit in January 2005 is too recent to gauge the influence, but one thing is certain. There will be an impact.

Donna Branson

Jun Young Hur

courtesy

For information about the Salmon Endowed Professorship or other endowments, please contact Mark Webster, the Office of Development and External Relations, 405-744-9734.

Oklahoma State University 25

Do You Have a Plan?

Estate gifts have provided the College of Human An estate gift can help you while also helping Environmental Sciences many valuable assets. For example, the generous gift of Tom and Pauline Miller

the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

Planned giving opportunities are a win-win option for those who want to leave something to their alma mater.

continues to assist students through scholarships, You might be interest in planned giving if you internships and leadership opportunities. Its impact

are planning to sell your business or other highly appreciated asset;

to the College will be experienced by generations of

would like to transfer significant assets to children with no gift or estate tax; or

CHES students. Similarly, Gordon Carlson’s estate

would like to secure dependable fixed income at a very attractive rate for yourself and a survivor.

plan generously provided for scholarships and much needed facility renovations.

Please contact Mark Webster, vice president for development and CHES senior development officer, at 405-744-9734 or the OSU Foundation Office of Planned Giving for more information on how to help yourself and the College of Human Environmental Sciences.