ENV
Q&A Q &A A
ENV V Welcomes N
Martin Sancho-Madriz, Ph.D. Martin Sancho-Madriz recently celebrated 20 years of service as a faculty member at Cal Poly Pomona. He began his appointment as the associate dean of the College of Environmental Design last spring. Prior to joining ENV, he was the chair of the Department of Human Nutrition and Food Science at the Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture. He serves on Cal Poly Pomona’s Strategic Planning Steering Commi ee and the WASC Reaccreditation Steering Commi ee. You’ve just celebrated 20 years at Cal Poly Pomona. What accomplishments are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my work as a faculty member starting and then developing the Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology Program. Over the years, I’ve watched it grow, going from just a couple of students and myself as the only faculty member back in 1999 to a robust enrollment of approximately 180 students, four tenure-track faculty, one full-time lecturer and three part-time lecturers in March 2017, when I assumed the ENV associate dean position. A highlight was when the first graduate of our program earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University and what this meant in terms of validating the quality of our program. [Editor’s note: Sancho-Madriz graduated from Cornell, whose food science program is considered one of the best in the nation.] I felt as proud as a parent does when their child has this kind of achievement. Another important accomplishment in my time in the Department of Human Nutrition and Food Science was developing a mandatory internship program for the Food Science and Technology Program students that resulted in many of them landing their first job. This high-impact practice provided valuable feedback from employers and self-reflection from the students themselves regarding student preparation and job readiness, as well as on the quality of the program and the importance of its learn-by-doing approach that makes our graduates competitive and positions them to excel in their careers.
What strengths from your time in Agriculture and other leadership positions on campus do you bring to ENV as associate dean? Spending close to seven years as the leader of my department allowed me to understand be er the Academic Affairs Division and the university; being department chair is both a challenging and rewarding position. My year as vice chair and two years as chair of the Academic Senate gave me a great perspective on faculty and programs across campus and on the importance of what I call the Three C’s: consultation, collaboration and compromise. Continuous improvement, whether it is related to curriculum, policies, classroom/labs or other facilities, gives me the satisfaction that \ 26 \ Fall
keeps me going. My personal goal is to leave things be er than I found them and to benefit the students, faculty, staff and anyone else I serve through my job.
What opportunities and challenges have you identified in the college? First of all, I am impressed with the talent, creativity and professional expertise that I have observed in ENV faculty and how this is also reflected in the students in the different programs. Also impressive: all ENV undergraduate programs are accredited. There are opportunities for collaboration within the college and with other programs across the university. I am glad some of our departments have submi ed proposals under the Cluster Hires Initiative and hope we are able to secure a position through the program. An important area of opportunity for the college is the growth of external funding, both through grants and contracts and through philanthropy. The biggest challenge for the college is being able to diminish reliance on state funding. As we know, our state funding is linked to enrollment and, while some growth is possible, we have limited human resources and infrastructure.
