Dean's Blog
Welcome to Dean Virginia Moxley’s blog, an on-line news source celebrating activities and accomplishments in the College of Human Ecology at K-State.
Dark chocolate: a healthier dose of affection
February 8th, 2010
Cocoa processing photo courtesy of Sollich North America
Lindshield said dark chocolate can be good for you — but it depends on how the chocolate is processed.
“The whole idea behind chocolate being beneficial comes from the Kuna who live on a remote island off of Panama,” Lindshield said. “The Kuna people have a unique diet, and one of the reasons scientists were interested in them is because they are one of the only populations that does not develop high blood pressure.”
Generally, as Americans age, blood pressure rises, which results in many developing the chronic high blood pressure condition known as hypertension, Lindshield said. However, when researchers studied the Kuna, they found that their blood pressure did not increase as they aged. Scientists also studied Kuna who had moved off the remote island to Panama City and found that after they moved, their blood pressure increased as they aged, more like most other populations in the world.
“Clearly, there was something that they were doing on the island that was resulting in lower blood pressure,” Lindshield said. “What researchers found was the Kuna’s cocoa consumption on the island was huge compared to when they moved off the island. We’re not talking chocolate, we’re talking cocoa powder, which is super bitter.”
That bitterness is due to compounds found in cocoa called flavinols which have been attributed to lowering blood pressure, Lindshield said.
The problem with most chocolates, however, is that most of their flavinols are destroyed during processing. Lindshield said that Mars Candy Company has developed a processing method that retains the flavinols, resulting in some of its products that are more heart-healthy.
Prepared by University media relations
Jurich advises singles to take Valentine’s Day cue from Mad Hatter
February 8th, 2010
Those without a sweetheart this Valentine’s Day need not drown their sorrows in heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. Kansas State University relationship expert Tony Jurich says instead, singles should make light of the traditionally couples holiday.
“When you’re surrounded by couples you might start to think that something’s wrong with you,” Jurich said. “It not only makes you acutely aware that they have something you don’t, but it makes it seem like the ‘normal’ people are together.”
Avoid a Pity Party
When you are single on a holiday – particularly on Valentine’s Day – you don’t do yourself any favors by spending it alone, Jurich said. Instead of ruminating in self-pity, singles should celebrate their status with just as much enthusiasm as couples.
“If you are single, you probably know other singles. Go out make it a night of it,” he said. “When you make a restaurant reservation, they’ll assume that you want a table for two, and you can say ‘no, a table for 12.’”
Throw an Un-Valentine Party
Lewis Carroll's party guy The Mad Hatter
“Make fun of the assumption that people need to be coupled,” he said. “Make light of it, kind of get even a little bit with the assumptions. Celebrate your singleness together.”
At the very least, Jurich said those who are single should plan a distraction like going to a movie – though he warns against a romance. He also said that Valentine’s Day is a horrible time for a first date or blind date because the expectations are too high.
Jurich also has advice for the recently single or those who are prone to think about old flames on Valentine’s Day.
When a memory is just a memory
“There is nothing wrong with being nostalgic and visiting, just don’t set up a tent there,” he said. “Find a good friend to commiserate with, preferably somebody who is happy being single or who had a miserable relationship with someone and is glad they are gone.”
Then spend the evening naming one advantage for every disadvantage there is to being single on Valentine’s Day, he said.
“If you can laugh at Valentine’s Day and laugh at the ‘misery’ of being single, you will give yourself distance — and distance will help you stay out of the self pity thing,” Jurich said.
Prepared by University media relations
Sauer appointed to pivotal dietetic group
February 3rd, 2010
Kevin Sauer, assistant professor in hospitality management and dietetics, has been appointed to a committee that will determine the way dietitians will be credentialed in the future.
He will serve on the Dietetic Practice Audit Committee of the Commission on Dietetic Registration. The comprehensive audit is conducted nationally every 5 years to clarify and validate the full range of professional knowledge tasks and activities essential for entry-level practice in dietetics. Subsequent research initiatives may be planned to examine practice beyond entry level and at advanced levels.
Building a research foundation
Results provide foundational information for the development and validation of the examinations for the Registered Dietitian (RD) and Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR) credentials in addition to educational competencies established by the Commission on Accreditation of Dietetics Education (CADE).
“This is a very high-power committee,” noted Deborah Canter, head of HMD. “Dr. Sauer will work with the committee and a research consultant to design the survey method and instrument, approve the methods of survey distribution and data collection, and evaluate the resulting data for use.”
Surveying dietetics practices
With responsibilities in the areas of credentialing, education, and practice standards, the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE), and the American Dietetic Association (ADA) have need of current, comprehensive information on dietetics practice. One response to this has been to periodically conduct empirical practice analyses to profile what dietitians and dietetic technicians actually do in practice.
Sauer, who is a registered dietitian and a licensed dietitian, will serve with 14 other educators and practitioners from around the country.
Supporting women in agriculture: the conference tradition celebrates 7th year
January 28th, 2010
The target group is women who are involved in agriculture. Why?
Kristy Archuleta has two answers.
“Women need access to pertinent information in an environment that feels safe to ask questions” is Archuleta’s first, and easiest, answer.
The second reveals a complexity that entwines tradition, the economy, and the mixing of family and business that may become accentuated in a rural environment, Archuleta said.
Archuleta, assistant professor in family studies and human services, has helped coordinate the Women Managing the Farm Conference for 6 years. The 2-day meeting will be Feb. 5 and 6 in Wichita.
The relationship managers
“Women are often the relationship managers in family businesses. This can be a very complex role to fulfill in a farm family because the farm business is always intertwined with the family and it’s very difficult to separate the two. We want to protect the relationships that can tear a farm operation apart,” Archuleta explained.
The mission is to help the farm family succeed in business.
“We offer an environment that gives women in agriculture a safe place to ask questions, network with other women like themselves, and an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills to help their farm businesses be successful. Farm women often put themselves last on the list of farm and family priorities and this conference allows some time away from their daily lives to enjoy themselves, too,” the professor and family financial counselor said.
Number of women in agriculture careers grows
While more women are choosing agriculture as a career, women also sometimes land in agribusiness unexpectedly, by marriage or a change in responsibilities in managing a family farm or agribusiness, she said.
In 2009, more than 225 women from Kansas and Oklahoma attended. This year Archuleta expects around the same number. “They are college age to women in their 70s,” she said. “They are farm operators or connected to agriculture as an absentee landlord or just want to learn more about working with women in agriculture.”
Conference topics will include business planning, health, managing employees, estate planning, trusts, long-term care insurance, coping with clutter, facilitating family meetings, water rights, farm safety, beef quality assurance, soil and crop rotation and mental health.
The WMF conference has been developed for all women involved in an operation from the fulltime manager to the absentee landowner needing a bit of insight about managing their investment.
Speakers to address farm law, consumer debt, health
The five keynote speakers are:
- Ellie Kay, a military spouse currently based in Palmdale, Calif. She is an author, corporate educator and spokesperson, and mother of seven who worked to eliminate $40,000 in consumer debt in 2-1/2 years. She is founder of the Shop, Save and Share Seminars, now lives debt-free, and will share her financial management tips in her presentation.
- Roger A. McEowen, professor in agricultural law at Iowa State University in Ames. He also is director of the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. Formerly, McEowen was an associate professor of agricultural law and an Extension specialist in agricultural law and policy at Kansas State University.
- Dr. Tana Goering, a physician practicing in Wichita, Kan. Her practice includes obstetrical care, and focuses on family care and health education.
- Shannon Ferrell, assistant professor at Oklahoma State University where he serves as Extension agricultural law specialist and teaches a course on agricultural law. Ferrell earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics and a law degree from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. He is licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of Oklahoma and specialized in agricultural, environmental and commercial law before joining the faculty at Oklahoma State.
- Kyle Bauer is general manager of KFRM 550 AM radio. In leading one of the nation’s largest farm radio signals, Bauer believes “everyone has a story.” For the conference, he will share agriculture stories and offer tips for attendees in sharing their story.
“One of the key benefits of attending the conference is meeting others who share similar challenges and concerns,” Archuleta said.
Registration and more information, including scholarship opportunities, are available on the conference web site. For questions about registration, call 1-320-224-0154 or e-mail wmf@ksu.edu.
The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. For reservations or more information, contact the hotel by calling 316-293-1234.
The conference is sponsored in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency, Farm Credit Associations of Kansas, Kansas Soybean Commission, Kansas Wheat Commission, ProAg Insurance, USDA Farm Service Agency, Kansas Agri-Women, the Kansas Department of Commerce, KFRM Radio and Kansas State University.
Prepared by Human Ecology communications and K-State Research and Extension News Media Services
Noted Mexican culinary expert brings sizzlin’ workshop to campus
January 28th, 2010
Jane Butel
Jane Butel wears the title Chile Queen with aplomb. Often credited with starting the Tex-Mex cooking craze, she wrote and taught about Southwestern and regional Mexican cuisine before most people knew how to pronounce “jalapeno.”
Her educational roots are chile-free. After graduating from K-State’s College of Human Ecology with a degree in home economics and journalism and after carrying hefty positions such as vice president for American Express in New York, Butel became a devotee of the chile and its accompanying cuisine. She has written “Real Women Eat Chiles” (Northland, 2006) and 19 other cookbooks.
Workshop to be Feb. 25 and 26
Butel brings her internationally-famous skills to campus Feb. 25 and 26 for the annual Culinary Enhancement Workshop sponsored by the Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics.
“Flavors of the Sizzlin’ Southwest,” the Feb. 25 workshop for foodservice professionals and alumni, is limited to 50 attendees. The first 30 to register will make tamales in an hour-long hands-on session with Butel.
Registration for the workshop in Derby Dining Center closes Feb. 12. Cost ranges from $100 for an individual to $500 for Culinary Leader sponsorship.
On Feb. 26, Butel repeats the workshop for students.
One of top cooking schools
Her cooking school in New Mexico, named one of the best in the U.S. by Gayot.com and Bon Appétit magazine, has been featured in publications around the world. Butel also conducts culinary tours in Mexico and Spain.
The teacher’s topics at K-State will be chili madness, corn craze and the evolving Southwest. Lunch will feature her favorite recipes.
Registration includes demonstrated recipes, lunch, beverages and a copy of “Chili Madness, a Passionate Cookbook by Jane Butel” (Workman, 2008).
For information, contact Missy Schrader at schrader@ksu.edu. To register by phone, call Charla Henry at 785-532-7536 or 800-432-1578.
Check out “Flavors of the Sizzlin’ Southwest” on Facebook:
Tortilla Soup from Jane Butel
FSHS students counsel peers at new Powercat center
January 14th, 2010
Kansas State University’s Powercat Financial Counseling will have its official grand opening at noon Wednesday, Jan. 27, in the courtyard of the K-State Student Union.
The mission of the center, which opened in fall 2009, is to improve the financial literacy of K-State students and provide professional counseling experience for students studying personal finance at K-State.
The new peer counselors include Amy Huninghake, junior in family studies and human services, Frankfort; Chelsy Parsons, senior in family studies and human services and finance, Holyrood; Kevin Makin, senior in family studies and human services, Lenexa; Mary Cox, junior in family studies and human services, Linwood; Charles Hazlett, senior in family studies and human services, and Patricia Moore, senior in family studies and human services, both from Manhattan; Laura Weiss-Cook, graduate student in family studies and human services, Ogden; and Kayla Horsky, senior in family studies and human services, Wichita.
The event is open to the public.
Speakers will include Matt Wagner and Lydia Peele, both former K-State student body presidents; and a representative from Waddell and Reed Inc., which made an initial donation to the counseling center.
“The grand opening is an opportunity for us to introduce the new peer counselors and celebrate this valuable new program,” said Jodi Kaus, director of Powercat Financial Counseling. “Student leaders and others saw the need for increased financial education and worked to make this center a reality so K-State students would have a place to get help managing their finances.”
K-State is the first Board of Regents’ institution in Kansas to offer a center designed specifically to help students with personal finances. The newly created program has already been recognized for excellence. Visa’s Practical Money Skills program named it one of its Innovative Educators for 2009.
“In the few short months we’ve been open, the students who have used our program have found it to be a valuable service,” Kaus said. “We want to use the grand opening to get the word out to all students that we have a select group of peer counselors who are available to help them with all of their financial questions.”
Also at the grand opening, Cadence, the K-State a cappella group, will perform. Several door prizes will be given away, including a 32-inch flat screen television, a Garmin GPS unit, an iPod and a portable DVD player, all donated by Commerce Bank student services. The Manhattan Staples store also has donated personal document shredders.
Besides one-on-one peer counseling, Powercat Financial Counseling will begin offering free workshops this semester on topics such as budgeting, understanding credit, identity theft and investing.
More information on K-State’s Powercat Financial Counseling is available on their web site.
Prepared by K-State media relations
Names in the News: January 11, 2010
January 11th, 2010
Wang appointed to EBM editorial board
George Wang, associate professor in human nutrition, has been appointed to the editorial board for Experimental Biology and Medicine.
The journal is “dedicated to the publication of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research in the biomedical sciences. Published monthly, EBM provides both research and review articles as well as meeting symposia and brief communications. Articles in EBM represent cutting edge research at the overlapping junctions of the biological, physical and engineering sciences that impact upon the health and welfare of the world’s population,” according to its website.
Wang replaces Denis Mediros, head of the Department of Human Nutrition, who finished his board term in December.
PCMA spotlight illuminates Barrett
Betsy Barrett was featured recently in the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Member Spotlight!
Barrett is associate professor in hospitality management and dietetics.
Athletic training student named Academic All-American
JuliAnne Chisholm, a junior in athletic training and pre-medicine, has been recognized for her combined efforts on the court and in the classroom. She was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Volleyball Team. She received third team honors and is the fourth Academic All-America in K-State history.
Mortar Board honors Sauer
Kevin Sauer was honored recently by local chapter of Mortar Board College Senior Honor Society. An assistant professor in hospitality management and dietetics, Sauer is one of 11 tapped as outstanding faculty and staff on campus.
Fees speaker at graduation
Bronwyn Fees, associate professor of family studies and human services, was keynote speaker at fall graduation ceremonies for the College of Human Ecology Dec. 12 in McCain Auditorium.
Commencement ceremonies were shown Dec. 15-17 on K-State TV, channel 8 on campus and on Cox Cable in Manhattan and Junction City. Playback for Human Ecology was at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
Prepared by Human Ecology communications
Golden Key taps CHE students
December 16th, 2009
More than 130 Kansas State University students from a wide variety of disciplines were recently inducted into the university’s chapter of Golden Key, an international honor society.
New members from the College of Human Ecology are:
- Kelby Polfer, junior in apparel and textiles;
- Janelle Goehring, senior in apparel and textiles;
- Alexandrea Schaible, sophomore in apparel and textiles;
- So Hee Moon, senior in interior design;
- Amy Huninghake, sophomore in family studies and human services;
- Sarah Kimberlin, sophomore in family studies and human services;
- Theresia McCollum, senior in nutrition and kinesiology;
- Ikuri Ogata, senior in athletic training;
- Andrea Schrage, graduate student in public health.
Golden Key recognizes and encourages scholastic achievement and excellence among college and university students from all academic disciplines. Membership is by invitation only to individuals who rank in the top 15 percent of all students on campus.
Military families institute documentary to air on Kansas Public TV
December 10th, 2009
A new documentary that captures how deployment affects the families of military reservists will air on public television stations in Topeka and Wichita starting Dec. 17.
“On Our Behalf: Supporting Guard and Reserve Families” looks at how deployment affects the families of some reservists who have been activated in support of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and other countries. The film, about the sacrifices of citizen soldiers’ families, is the first project from K-State’s new Institute for the Health and Security of Military Families.
The documentary will air on KPTS in Wichita at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17; 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 26; and 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 27. It also will air on KTWU in Topeka at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 27, and 9:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28. The Bunker Hill PBS station broadcast the film on Veterans Day.
Watch the video
The video also can be viewed on the Institute’s web site.
“This documentary highlights the experiences of war deployment affecting many of our family members, neighbors and friends,” said Briana Nelson Goff, K-State professor of family studies and human services and director of the Institute for the Health and Security of Military Families. “‘On Our Behalf’ provides a glimpse into what it is like for these soldiers and their family members. It is our hope that citizens across Kansas will gain an awareness of how they can help support these members of their community.”
The film was initiated by Charles Smith, a professor in K-State’s School of Family Studies and Human Services, and Ron Frank, a recently retired K-State professor of communications and video producer.
Kids are courageous
“Dr. Smith wrote a book shortly after 9/11, ‘Raising Courageous Kids,’ and discovered how children respond to adversity through characteristics of courage and character,” Frank said. “That led us to look at how reserve families with young children are coping with the vast numbers of multiple deployments required of the current war.”
Frank, also a retired public affairs officer with the Kansas Army National Guard, said that they chose to focus on reservists not only because of his background, but because the families of citizen soldiers don’t have ready access to family support groups and activities like those of active-duty soldiers.
“The 30-minute program not only tells their stories, but highlights ways that families, neighbors, friends, employers and communities can help them become more resilient as their commitment to the country becomes greater,” Frank said.
K-State’s Institute for the Health and Security of Military Families coordinates the multitude of research and outreach programs that touch on the well-being of military personnel, veterans and their families after battle.
The institute has provided copies of the documentary to attendees of the College of Human Ecology Legacy of Excellence Events in October, the U.S. Department of Defense and other organizations working with military service members and their families.
Prepared by Media Relations
Three add to college’s international ambiance
November 30th, 2009
From left are Uma Chitra, Laura Vazquez Araujo and Svetlana Cotelea.
Three women with powerful international credentials have joined the College of Human Ecology’s human nutrition department this year to teach and research. Uma Chitra is Nehru Fulbright visiting lecturer from India; Svetlana Cotelea is a Muskie Fellow from Moldova; Laura Vazquez Araujo is a sensory analysis research associate from Spain.
The Kansas stay is the first visit to the United States for each.
Uma Chitra
Chitra is head of the Department of Nutrition at Kasturba Gandhi Degree and PG College in Secunderabad, India. At K-State she is teaching a graduate course called Nutrition in Developing Countries and guest lecturer in Science of Food and Public Health Nutrition.
She calls her Kansas experience “the most defining moment of my career.”
“The classroom in the U.S. is very informal,” she observed. “It was surprising to find that some students bring food and drinks to class. This is unheard of in India and although I found it distracting in the beginning, I soon got used to it!
“The students say ‘Hi, How was your weekend?’ I am going to take this home with me and try to make my classroom in India more informal.” She plans also to take home techniques such as group presentations and evaluation.
Chitra finds the graduates students with whom she works independent, highly motivated, enthusiastic and confident.
Her culinary talents are becoming well-known around Justin Hall.
“As part of the Fulbright my mission is also to meet as many people as possible and to participate in a broad range of social and community activities,” she explained. “ I have made many friends here and have been invited so often for lunch and dinner. I have tried to cook as many Indian dishes for as many American friends as possible. I found it so surprising that Americans love spicy food, too.”
“The Americans are most friendly and kind,” she said. “Kansas has been a surprise. I did not know that such kind and large hearted people existed. It’s going to be difficult to say goodbye.”
She works closely with department head Denis Medeiros and with assistant professor Koushik Adhikari.
Svetlana Cotelea
Cotelea, a physician in Moldova, is studying public health in hopes of affecting public policy on such diseases as diabetes in her homeland. “Many of the metabolic disorders need a global approach,” she said. “Many times they are public health problems and we need to find public health solutions.”
At K-State, she will study metabolic disorders and nutritional interventions, working with faculty member Mary Meck Higgins. “Lana is the first Muskie Fellow to study public health and this is our first physician in the master of public health program,” Higgins said.
Cotelea completed her medical education at the Nicolae Testemitanu State Medical and Pharmaceutical University in Chisinau with a residency in internal medicine and a clinical secondary diploma in dietetics. She was a lecturer and member of the academic staff of her alma mater. She has also been a trainer and nutrition counselor at a school for diabetic patients.
She is one of five at K-State in the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program that provides opportunities for graduate students and professionals from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan for one-year non-degree, one-year degree or two-year degree study in the United States.
Laura Vazquez Araujo
Vazquez Araujo, who has a PhD in agricultural and food science and technologies, is from Galicia in Northwestern Spain.
She is working with the Sensory Analysis Center on instrumental analysis of food. “Working in U.S. is very helpful in finding a job in Spain,” she said. “And work in foreign countries is essential to work in Spanish universities.”
Prepared by Human Ecology communications. Photo by David Mayes, university photographer.