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Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Issue 08
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Course offers insight on U.S. food handling Jordan Lawson Staff Writer UT’s Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Preparedness is hosting a course regarding the importing and transportation of food in the U.S. This pilot delivery of the course, entitled “Effective Sharing of Information and Intelligence Related to the Importation and Transportation of Food,” will take place Tuesday the UT Conference Center. Sharon Thompson, director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Preparedness, said that the course addresses how food is transported in the U.S. and how it is vital that information about food security and safety should be shared between the public and private sectors. The course is designed for those who have a stake in food defense and safety, including law enforcement, emergency responders and public health officials. “At the end of this course, the participant will be able to
effectively identify, share and disseminate intelligence and information related to food imports and the transportation of food,” Thompson said. “They will also understand the importance of communicating information as soon as it is observed and know whom they should contact.” Ann White, program manager of the Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Preparedness, said that since 9/11 the U.S. has been cautious and on alert for terrorist attacks. “Everyday we hear about disgruntled employees or ‘homegrown terrorists,’” she said. “It is important to train those who work in the food industry and law enforcement what to look out for.” There have also been reports of problems concerning food safety with both imported products and those domestically produced, Thompson said. “This course will try and improve communication between the private and public sectors in order to identify problems early on and prevent associated health consequences,” she said. The pilot course is part of a certification process to gain
approval of the course from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The course is being developed by UT’s own Center for Agriculture and Food Security and Preparedness and has funding support from the DHS, Thompson said. UT, Virginia Tech and New Mexico State University faculty will teach the course. “Once the course is approved by DHS, it will be delivered nationally,” Thompson said. White said that they currently have two courses that have already been certified. They must deliver three pilot courses to achieve this certification so the course can be taught nationally. The other schools that help teach the course also aid in its design. “We collaborate with other colleges, such as New Mexico State University and Virginia Tech, to develop our courses, and our instructors include University of Tennessee staff and other subject matter experts from all across the country,” White said. There is no cost to take the course but preregistration is required. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. and the course will begin at 8 a.m. and last until 5 p.m.
Survey shows UT students dissatisfied Robby O’Daniel Editor-in-Chief
Tara Sripunvoraskul • The Daily Beacon
Throughout the summer UT has freshman orientation that is meant to guide upcoming freshman in what classes to take, what clubs to join, and other things that new students to UT should learn.
According to a recent survey, UT students are less satisfied than their peers in terms of evaluating their overall educational experience at UT and whether they would attend UT again if they could start over. Data from the National Survey of Student Engagement was presented by Todd Diacon, executive director for academic success and program support, at the Academic Affairs and Student Success Committee meeting on Thursday morning. The numbers showed that UT seniors in 2008 presented lower scores — showing less participation, less satisfaction or less frequency in activities — in a number of categories. The biggest differences between UT and peer institutions came to the aforementioned questions, asking how students would rate their overall educational experience and whether they’d attend again. Even though both figures were below peers, they remained satisfactory overall. When evaluating the overall educational experience, UT students averaged 3.05, while Tennessee Higher Education Commission peers averaged 3.42. On a four-point scale, those answers to the question indicate an answer between “good” and “excellent,” though THEC peers are closer to excellent. In the same way, UT and THEC peers both range between “probably yes” and “definitely yes” when asking whether students would attend the same school again, but THEC peers are closer to “definitely yes” than UT. UT rates at 3.19, while THEC peers are at 3.51 for that school year. 2008 UT seniors also were below THEC peers in satisfaction when rating academic advising and relationships with others at the university. 2008 UT seniors ranked lower in participating in practicums, internships, volunteer work, research projects and study abroad. According to the survey, those surveyed also ranked lower when evaluating how their institution supported academic success or helped them understand people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds.
The only figure shown in the presentation that placed UT above THEC peers was students completing class presentations. Trustee Don Stansberry worried that all the categories shown except one showed UT below THEC peers. Provost Susan Martin said at the meeting that many of the figures showed the difference between UT and THEC peers as insignificant. According to the report, many of the effectsize differences were below .3, meaning they were “hardly noticeable.” The report said, “This does not mean that we can ignore differences. But it does mean that we need to make sure we understand the meaning of those differences.” Alexander McCormick, director of the National Survey of Student Engagement, emphasized that the differences are effect sizes, not percentage differences. “(With) .3, you’re pretty modest in terms of differences,” McCormick said. “You’re entering into the range of something that might be noticeable, but it’s not going to be a dramatic difference.” McCormick said there’s always a question with universities asking when figures like this become significant and meaningful, considering it’s a sample size of students willing to take the survey that constitutes the results. The response rate for the last data was 39 percent. “We have these students that responded to the survey, and how much can we infer in that for all of our students?” McCormick asked. He said the impetus of creating the survey was to improve discussion quality about higher education. He said rankings like the U.S. News and World Report ones were reputationdriven and “did not tell you anything about teaching and learning.” He said, with SAT scores, you can virtually reproduce the rankings. “We wanted to create a survey that refocused the discussion,” McCormick said. According to the report, the university has already taken action to address issues with advising and study abroad with hiring more advising professionals, changing the way advising is done at freshman orientation, promoting the Ready for the World Initiative and promoting study-abroad scholarships.
Book club promotes environmental thinking Andrea Castillo Staff Writer With the economic recession, the skyrocketing price of gas and now the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the idea of going green and the discussion of alternative options to save energy have become popular topics. This is especially true at the Knox County Public Library where Emily Ellis started a program, called the Brown Bag-Green Book series, in 2009 to do just that. With the Knox County Public Library and City of Knoxville as the sponsors of the Brown Bag-Green Book
series, Ellis, the leader and founder of the program, first started this series in the spring of 2009 when she noticed the number of people who were out for lunch and decided to use it to her advantage. She did this, not only to bring people to the Knox County Public Library, but also to discuss important issues. The discussions are held on the third Wednesday of each month at noon in the Knox County Public Library and members can either bring their own sack lunch or get takeout food at a nearby restaurant. Each discussion is led by a different
speaker or set of speakers. “This program is open to the public and is something that has generated a really good response and a great turnout,” said Ellis. “I’m glad I selected something that people are interested in and that continues to have people return each month.” Ellis stated that she is proud of the program. Green Books deals with environmental sustainability, and although the books do pertain to the discussion, the reading is not required for participants to attend. According to Ellis, the discussions are generally scheduled for an hour, but they often run over a bit, because
when you are engaged in an interesting subject and get carried away, it is difficult to just cut it off at times, she said. Each book is different and includes topics such as water providence, local food, clean energy and America's addiction to oil, as well as sustainable design. Bill Shiell, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, discussed "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture," by Ellen Ruppel Shiell, last December. “The program creates a space in community for two things we need most: civility and dialogue,” Shiell said. Ellis invited him to do the
presentation, and he chose from a couple of different controversial issues in the culture. “I chose ‘Cheap’ because my tribe of Christians tends to spend more money around the Christmas season for people rather than for the person who is associated with Christmas,” Shiell says. As for the program itself, Shiell says that he found the forum engaging and stimulating. “The staff really set a nice tone and a warm environment for the conversation,” stated Shiell. The next discussion will be on July 21 and will be led by John Nolt, professor of
philosophy. He will be leading the discussion on a 10year-old classic, entitled “Fast Food Nation,” by Eric Schlosser. “The investigation and cultural history that it delves into changed the way America thinks about the way it eats,” Ellissaid. “With each program we invite someone in the community that has some insight and knowledge on the topic at hand.” Ellis also commented on the fact that John Nolt was an interesting and engaging speaker and that she is looking forward to him being there in the upcoming month.