It has been a busy year for the Division of Food, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences (FNES)! I have just completed my first full year as director. I am pleased with progress we are making in our mission areas of teaching, research and extension. I share with you here a few highlights!
FNES welcomed 126 new undergraduates in August; a 25% increase from last year! Total combined opening day enrollment in our two majors, Food Science & Nutrition and Nutrition & Exercise Physiology (NEP), was 426.
Also in August, we welcomed a “new,” full-time academic advisor, Tammy Conrad. Tammy will be a familiar face to some of you, as she served NEP undergraduates as an academic advisor for 10 years before relocating to Kansas City in 2021. During her time with NEP, Tammy was regularly recognized for her outstanding advising contributions. We are fortunate she is returning to Mizzou to share her talents and skills in support of all FNES students towards achieving their academic and career goals. We are also looking to hire a second advisor, with support from the Provost’s Office. This position will also focus on recruitment.
FNES participated in several outreach and recruitment events this late summer and early fall. In August, we hosted a table at the Missouri State Fair and in late September we had our own tent at the CAFNR Showcase. At both events, attendees were treated to activities that highlighted our disciplines, such as participating in a grip-strength challenge, making a healthy trail mix, and supertaster testing. During CAFNR’s “Health Day,” an event for high school students interested in health careers, faculty met with 28 prospective families to introduce them to our pre-health programs and tour our research facilities in Gwynn Hall.
Our research enterprise always excites me with its wide range of study areas, from making healthier food, to making healthier humans! You will see some incredible findings on both sides later in this newsletter. We are also soon to expand processing capabilities in both our meat science and our fermentation labs. This will have direct impact on teaching, research and workforce readiness in our state and industries.
Read on also to learn more about our CAFNR Column Award winner for FNES this year, Kendra Kattlemann, RDN, LN, FAND! Dr. Kattlemann’s career efforts in research and extension make her a fitting candidate for this honor, the highest given by the college for alumni.
Finally, we hope you will enjoy seeing some of the recent upgrades in menu and style at Buck’s Ice Cream Place! Don’t worry, Tiger Stripe is still always on the menu.
Please reach out to me any time – I always enjoy hearing from our alumni and learning where your path has taken you since you left Mizzou!
Dojin (DJ) Ryu
Director, Division of Food, Nutrition & Exercise Sciences