Jessica Conrardy (foreground), Melissa Ross and Allison Pfeifer sketch at Villa Emo.

Peggy Honey has a subtle goal.

Of course, she wants her interior design students to touch Renaissance buildings, to walk through the nearly 2,000-year-old Pantheon, to stand in front of St. Peter’s Basilica and the Borghese Palace, to fall in love with the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova and the Musee des Artes Decoratif in Paris.

But most of all, the professor wants to introduce them to life-long open mindedness. She wants her students to have a positive experience so they’ll boldly hit the road again and again to absorb more culture.

Honey and professional photographer Alan Honey led a study tour of France and Italy in June. With 14 students and one mom, the interior design professor and the photographer spent two weeks sketching, walking, photographing, and studying.

Better than textbooks

For the students, textbook images came alive.

“No textbook or virtual tour can prepare you for the feeling when you enter the Pantheon; the unexpected coolness of the space that is situated in a very temperate area of the world,” said Stacy Davis, “or the amount of light that is present in buildings that were built before the invention of electric power.”

Kim Riege in the nave of Vezelay, a great Romanesque pilgrimage church.

“Being able to walk through the Roman forum and realize that Julius Caesar had walked right where you were standing was amazing!” recalled Melissa Ross.

“Something about actually standing in the structures of Italy and France and experiencing their overwhelming proportions gave a whole new meaning to the information we had learned in class,” said Lydia Travis, who made her first trip outside the United States. “I was surprised by the scale of the architecture as well as the amount of detail that went into the design and decoration of the structures and their interiors.”

Davis said she noted the similarity of building materials in one region. “It made me re-evaluate why we ship materials from far away for a building, and then insert them all over the country, creating the same sense of place in multiple areas with very different geographic contexts,” she said.

Cathedrals and country homes

Walking to the Eiffel Tower at night; touching the marble used to build St. Peter’s; admiring French country scenery; dining on Italian food; listening to monks sing their chants in a Romanesque cathedral overlooking Florence. Favorite moments seemed to encompass most of the itinerary.

The study trip solidified students’ career choices. Stacy Davis realized she wants to work in historic preservation. Melissa Ross improved sketching and photography skills, making her more well-rounded and marketable, she said.

Honey organized her first study tours in 2005. She included France because she studied there and that was “a life-changing experience.” Alan Honey is fluent in Italian.

“We don’t have a lot of truly old architecture for the students to experience in this country. In France and Italy, they can experience both architecture and history,” she said.

“I try to prepare them for the history and the culture, and to be independent travelers. They are responsible for much of their own agenda,” she added. “But universally, I have found there is no way for them to anticipate the age, beauty and cultural differences they will see.”

“It’s an awakening. They lose a little of that American egocentrism.”

Students go with “this great attitude of soaking it in,” she said.

Outside the American bubble

Honey accomplished her subtle goal this trip. Students agreed that the trip changed them.

Kaitlin Jones said she became more open to other cultures.

“The tour made me appreciate parks and public spaces more, it made me appreciate wonderful sit down meals where you can converse over good food; it also made me want to lobby for having better public transportation systems,” Davis said.

Lydia Travis agreed. “It made me realize and appreciate how diverse and unique our world is. It also made me realize how small we are in the grand scheme of things. Experiencing these cultures forced me to slow down, take in my surroundings, and pay attention to details,” she said.

Katie Hoffman made her first trip outside American borders. “I have learned to conserve space, resources, and time,” she said. “Europeans walk everywhere, they live in tiny spaces, they are completely content with it. I think we are too greedy and too lazy.”

Added Amy Boeshaar, “Seeing another culture and how other people go about their day to day life definitely opened my eyes and got me out of a bubble that I was living in.”

Honey is planning a study tour to England in 2011.

Students at Fontenay Abbey in France

Photos courtesy of Alan Honey
Prepared by Human Ecology communications

Elizabeth McCullough, past chair of the subcommittee in charge of the new standard, is the international standard’s author.

“If most manufacturers follow F2732, consumers will be better able to compare the temperature ratings of cold weather garments described in catalogs and on Web sides, and make informed purchases,” McCullough said in an article headlined “Temperature Ratings” in the September/October issue of Standardization News.

She is co-director of the Institute for Environmental Research at K-State and a professor in apparel, textiles and interior design.

ASTM International was originally known as American Society for Testing and Materials.

The K-State Sustainability web site includes directories, courses, research and projects, ways for people to get involved, and a news blog.

Among the listings are:

• Research in the Department of Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design by Sherry Haar, associate professor, and graduate students Cosette Armstrong and Aditi Shukla.
• Work of Tonatiuh Melgarejo, assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition.

“This Web site can help connect people for interdisciplinary research projects, service learning projects and more. For instance, if instructors are wanting to develop class projects, they could tie in with ongoing sustainability efforts by our facilities department,” said Ben Champion, K-State’s director of sustainability.

“What we really want to do is work with other sustainability professionals throughout Kansas,” he said. “We want it to be about the needs of Kansas, not just K-State. This is a way that K-State can provide leadership in sustainability. We can help create a statewide network for sustainability throughout higher education in Kansas.”

In a story headlined “Age-old questions about longevity,” The Salina Journal Sunday explored the topic of longevity featuring 104-year-old Anna Winslow. Gayle Doll was the only expert interviewed.

Reporter Gary Demuth wrote, “And there’s the conundrum — while no one wants to die, no one wants to live forever if it means a diminished lifestyle and watching those you love die, said Gayle Doll, director of the Kansas State University Center on Aging, which researches and educates in the fields of gerontology and aging. ‘I’ve been around a lot of older people, and I have yet to meet one who wanted to live another 50 years,’ she said.”

Graduate Lauren Luhrs in the KC Star

The Kansas City Star published a Q&A with ’08 graduate Lauren Luhrs in the “How I got the job” feature this weekend. Luhrs is a market distribution analyst with Payless Shoes in Topeka.

How did she get her job? She credits a K-State job fair, a sorority contact and an internship the summer between her junior and senior years of college at Lands’ End in Dodgeville, Wis.  She worked in global sourcing. “That gave me great expertise in product development,” she told the newspaper.

Luhrs graduated with a degree in human ecology and mass communications specializing in apparel marketing and public relations, with a minor in business and leadership studies. She gave the 2008 student commencement address and was one of the college’s Outstanding Seniors.

Design Journal’s August 2009 report listed 15 schools. K-State was the only public university on the list. Other American institutions were Yale University, The School of Art Institute of Chicago, The Rhode Island School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts of New York.

“It is an honor to be recognized on the international platform for the exceptional interior design program we have here at Kansas State. The hard work of our outstanding faculty and students has resulted in this select reputation,” said Jana Hawley, head of the Department of Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design.

The report includes an interview with Hyung-Chan Kim, assistant professor of apparel, textiles, and interior design. Kim was born in South Korea, and his understanding of Asian interiors has added real-life insight to class assignments for the interior design students, Hawley said.

The video, written and produced by the college, is available on YouTube and Facebook. Check out other videos on the College of Human Ecology YouTube channel.

The committee — which has representation from both on and off campus — will look in detail at the transition audit, evaluate changes already made by the university entities involved and formulate a report to be delivered to the Kansas Board of Regents in October. Additional changes to university policy could also be suggested by the committee.

“Having both internal and external representatives to review the university’s path forward will be critical to ensuring the issues identified do not come up again,” Schulz said. “This variety of perspectives is key to making sure that we are using our resources in a transparent and responsible manner.”

Brian Spooner, University Distinguished Professor and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will chair the committee.

Members of the committee from K-State are: M.M. Chengappa, University Distinguished Professor and head of the department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology; Carolyn Elliott, president of K-State’s Classified Senate, office of student life; Fred Fairchild, professor of grain science and industry; Lori Goetsch, dean of K-State Libraries; Leslie Hannah, assistant dean of academics and assistant professor of arts, sciences and business at K-State at Salina; Dalton Henry, student body president, senior in agricultural communications and journalism and agricultural economics, Randolph; Eric Higgins, professor and head of the department of finance; Melody LeHew, president of K-State’s Faculty Senate, associate professor of apparel, textiles and interior design; Pete Paukstelis, assistant university attorney; and Reid Sigmon, senior associate athletics director, who will serve as an ex officio member.

Committee members from outside K-State are: Lee Borck, K-State alumnus and Manhattan-area businessman and philanthropist; and Judd Neal, president of Physicians Business Network, Overland Park.

Per Kansas Board of Regents policy, a transition audit was triggered when former K-State President Jon Wefald announced his retirement in late 2008. The audit reviewed non-state accounts under the Kansas State University Alumni Association, the Kansas State University Foundation and K-State Athletics.

(via K-State Media Relations)

They are her research.

Haar grows a wide variety of plants, from the common marigold to ancient plants like weld and indigo, for their dye properties. She extracts the color from the flowers, leaves or roots onto fabric that has been prepared to increase the bond between dye and fiber. The plant parts can be used fresh, or dried or frozen for later use.

As a member of K-State’s Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design Sustainability Team, Haar is researching what plant/fiber combinations reap the best colorfast results and how to incorporate sustainable methods in the dye process and product development. Each fabric she dyes is its own experiment, which she keeps fastidious track of in a three-ring notebook, complete with fabric swatches and a photo journal.

“I love this work because I can stimulate both sides of my brain through science and design,” she said.

Haar has been conducting the research for three years. She spent the first year familiarizing herself with the best practices for natural dyeing. The next year, she began experimenting with solar and decomposition dyeing and using alternative fibers like bamboo, hemp and organic cotton.

Haar said natural dyes can yield virtually any color, though at times she’s been surprised by the results. Boldly colored flowers may not yield strong colors, while a delicate bloom may give an intense color. There are many variables that influence the color, such as the method used to extract the color, chemical composition of the plant, fiber and which mordant is used to bind the dye to the fabric, she said.

This year, Haar has grown more plant varieties, bringing the total around the house to roughly 30, and has been working on creating unique color effects by placing plants on the fabric itself. As an artist, Haar said she believes it’s important to incorporate the essence of the plant used into the ultimate design.

“As an artist it is fulfilling to be involved in the design process from the nurturing of a seed to an artwork or product,” she said.

To date, Haar has produced a wide variety of colors, from soft purple and orange hues to bolder shades of blue and yellow.

“What I particularly enjoy is the colors you get. They can be strong but they’re not acidic like many synthetic dyes,” she said. “The palette is more muted, yet there is depth and richness to the color.”

Natural dyeing also leaves behind little waste as it uses organic matter exclusively, Haar said.

“More and more people are becoming aware of the toxins and dangerous effluents from synthetic dyes,” Haar said. “Using a plant or animal dye source can benefit, rather than harm, the environment.”

Taking the tenets of sustainability even further, Haar and her colleagues have been designing garments with little or no fabric waste.

“We’ve been experimenting with ways to take a length of fabric, dye it and then create designs with minimal waste that still flatters the wearer,” she said. The types of garments being designed could not only be worn in many ways, but would fit people of varying size.

Haar said that the other members of the sustainability team and graduate students are researching consumer and market-related aspects of naturally dyed products, as well as the dyestuffs with which to create such products.

Haar said that natural dyes will never replace synthetics, but there are niche markets to be found. And some countries in Europe are interested enough that they’ve been looking at how much land they would need to grow crops for dyeing and how traditional agricultural equipment could be modified to take on the task.

“There is this worldwide awareness, and I believe Kansas has much to offer in the research and development of natural dyes and by-products,” Haar said.

Haar’s research is also multidisciplinary. Though she has graduate students in her discipline working on a variety of related projects, she’s also working with professors in the department of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources. In addition, K-State’s student farm now grows dye plants.

The other members of K-State’s Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design Sustainability Team are Barbara Anderson, associate professor; Jana Hawley, professor and department head; Melody LeHew, associate professor; and Kim Hiller Connell, assistant professor.

(via K-State News Insider)

Bronwyn Fees, family studies and human services; Sara Rosenkranz, human nutrition; and Tanis Hastmann, human nutrition, are among those who received a grant of $125,716 from the United Methodist Health Foundation.

They will conduct a study entitled, “Promoting Media Literacy in Parents and Young Children to Provide healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity at Home: The HOP’N Home Environment Project.” The group also includes David Dzewaltowski, kinesiology; Barb Roths, Extension; and Melissa Bopp, kinesiology.

College elects faculty senators

Faculty has elected Peggy Honey, ATID; Carol Kellett, dean’s office; and Kevin Roberts, HMD, to serve 3-year terms as faculty senators. They will join Mark Haub and Jane Garcia in representing the college on faculty senate. Melody LeHew, ATID, begins her term as faculty senate president in May.

Meredith publishes on Ph.D. programs

Bill Meredith, head of FSHS, has been published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy: DuPree, W.J.; White, M.B.; Meredith, W.H.; Ruddick, L.; & Anderson, M.P. (2009). Evaluating Scholarship Productivity in COAMFIE-Accredited Ph.D. Programs, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 35 (2), 204-219.

ADA presenters announced

Accepted for presentations at the fall Food and Nutrition Conference and Exhibition of the American Dietetic Association in Denver are:

• Roberts, K. R. & Barrett, E. Exploring restaurant managers’ beliefs about food safety training . Research and Practice Innovation (RPI).
• Barrett, E. and Riggins, L. Beliefs and Perceptions of School Foodservice Personnel about HACCP Implementation.

Accepted for poster presentations are:

• Roberts, K. R., Kwon, J., & Shanklin, C. W. Food safety practices in ethnic restaurants in Kansas;
• Roberts, K. R., Remig, V., Bryant, T. J., & Snyder, G. Older adults’ technology preferences related to food safety education;
• Remig, V., Roberts, K. R., Bryant, T. J., & Snyder, G. Discussion Groups with Mature Adults Help Identify Food Safety Issues and Barriers;
• Griffith, L., Canter, D., Betts, N., Anderson, J., Kattlemann, K., Harris, M., Brundt, A., Schnepf, M. Multi-Institutional Delivery of Internet-Based Graduate Education to Dietetics Professionals;
• Kwon, J., Ryu, D., Zottarelli, L., Kwon, S., Paulson, R. Food Safety Training Needs for Evacuation Shelters Operated by Faith-based Organizations.

Courtney Held, senior in dietetics and public health nutrition,  and Valerie Stull, graduate student in public health, organized K-State’s first Fair Trade Awareness, Africa’s Sustainability, Together event set for Sunday, April 25. Activities will include a 5K fun run, music and social justice fair.

The third organizer was Kiera Evans, campus ministry intern. Sponsor is K-State’s Episcopal Campus Community Ministry. The three will be going to Kenya this summer on a mission trip.

The event on Bosco Plaza will feature canvas bags made by women in Kenya and Malawi, on sale for $12. The money raised will go to the two fair trade groups who made the bags, Comfort the Children International in Kenya, and African Bags in Malawi.

Three join Mortar Board

Three Human Ecology students have been selected to join Mortar Board. They are:

• Jesus Garcia, public health nutrition
• Claire Cody, dietetics
• Brittany DeLaney, communication sciences and disorders

Mortar Board is a national honor society that recognizes college seniors for distinguished ability and achievement in scholarship, leadership and service.

Honor society initiates six

The campus chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron has initiated new members. They are:

• Kelsi Hillbrant-Head, junior in family studies and human services
• Kelly Harrison, junior in nutrition and kinesiology
• Madison Peak, sophomore in nutritional sciences
• Sara Fultz, junior in communication sciences and disorders
• Kelsey Flickner, sophomore in family studies and human services
• Gabrielle Sims, sophomore in dietetics and kinesiology

Phi Upsilon Omicron is a national honor society in family and consumer sciences that encourages lifelong learning, excellence in scholarship, leadership and service.

Hightower, Armstrong present research

Carrita Hightower and Cossette Armstrong earned honors at the recent K-State Research Forum where graduate students presented research in the agricultural sciences, biological sciences, engineering and physical sciences, and social sciences/humanities/education, as well as poster presentations.

Hightower, human nutrition, took second place in posters. Armstrong, apparel and textiles, won first place in social sciences/humanities/education.