AMES, Iowa -- Seven new faculty-led projects were funded by Iowa State University's College of Human Sciences as a result of a new competitive initiative launched by the college last spring. CHS offered a total of $75,000 to fund winning proposals related to teaching innovations, and another $75,000 for entrepreneurial-related proposals. Some of the funded projects include:
NEW CULINOLOGY® -- An undergraduate curriculum in the new field of Culinology® -- the blending of culinary arts and the science of food -- with a specialty in entrepreneurship will be developed. It will be administered by the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Department of Apparel, Educational Studies and Hospitality Management. Organizers will use the CHS funds to hire a half-time program director and half-time graduate student to manage the Culinology® program. It will enhance cross-disciplinary research, particularly coming from the new Nutrition and Wellness Research Center (NWRC). For example, new functional food ingredients being studied in the NWRC can be utilized by the Culinology® students to create signature products for their entrepreneurial activities. CONTACT: Pamela White, University Professor of food science and human nutrition, (515) 294-9688, pjwhite@iastate.edu
COMBATTING STUDENT CREDIT CARD DEBT -- A new initiative will improve financial education for ISU students; create career opportunities for Family Finance, Housing, and Policy (FFHP) majors; and expand the reach of the Financial Counseling Clinic in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies. The funding will develop two courses to allow non-FFHP majors to study their own personal financial issues. One course will be created for freshman and sophomores and will cover basic personal finance (HDFS 183). The second course is planned for seniors and will cover personal financial planning as they approach commencement (HDFS 493). Financial Counseling Clinic services will be expanded by offering new learning experiences and more opportunity for ISU students to take financial literacy courses. The initiative will also create a change in FFHP internship requirements and coordination. CONTACT: Maurice MacDonald, professor and chair, Human Development and Family Studies, (515) 294-1983, mmacdona@iastate.edu
UNDERSTANDING THE AGED -- The Exceptional Longevity in Rural Environments initiative will use funding for a team of ISU researchers to study very old adults, their optimal ways of adaptation, and their survivorship skills. Funding will support collection and analysis of preliminary data designed to support a larger scale proposal to the National Institutes of Health. The project has the following goals: to study survivorship in rural environments; to collaborate with faculty members in the Department of Computer Sciences to enhance smart home technology that will promote aging at their existing homes; to collaborate with researchers in cognitive aging including geriatric physicians who maintain active memory clinics with an emphasis on mild cognitive impairment; and to collaborate with faculty in the Family Policy Center to assess economic dependencies, care giving expenses, and services provided to older adults. CONTACT: Peter Martin, professor of human development and family studies, (515) 294-5186, pxmartin@iastate.edu
Other funded initiatives include creating a Rural Renaissance Community Index to define, assess, and improve community features that expand human potential and economic development; creating a clinical gait assessment program that provides objective, reliable and repeatable measurements of walking and running; developing a healthy lifestyle service learning initiative, and converting the four-credit Textile Science I course (TC 204) to an online class. Additional information on all the funded initiatives is available at http://www.hs.iastate.edu/lde/initiatives/ .
