News & Notes

Vital College Leaders

Trio strengthens people and program support

This fall the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences transitioned to the associate dean model adopted by the other colleges at Cal Poly to ensure that three critical areas are supported: student success, faculty and staff support, and research and graduate programs. 

Richard Cavaletto continues in his leadership of undergraduate programs.

Nanine Van Draanen is serving as interim associate dean, faculty affairs. She oversees faculty and staff affairs, including onboarding of new faculty and staff and recruitment and mentoring.  

Chris Dicus is serving as interim associate dean, research and graduate programs. These programs were formerly led by Mark Shelton, who has returned to the Horticulture and Crop Science Department to teach. Dicus provides leadership for research coordination and funding, grant and research support, and graduate program recruitment and curriculum.

By The Numbers

• 23: NUMBER OF YEARS that Cal Poly Has been Names Best in the West public-master's university by U.S. News and World Report.
• 14: NATIONAL RANKING of Cal Poly undergraduates in regard to median salaries among public university graduates, according to PayScale.com.
• 4,583: NUMBER OF freshmen who applied to the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences (CAFES) for fall 2015.
• 1,955: NUMBER OF freshman who were accepted by CAFES in fall 2015.
• 3.87: AVERAGE GPA of incoming freshmen in CAFES in fall 2015.

Faculty Notes

Schwab is Named Rising Star by National Association
Keri Schwab, a professor in the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Department, was named one of five up-and-coming professionals by the National Recreation and Park Association.

Schwab's key industry involvments and her thoughts on the future of the industry were highlighted in the 50th anniversary commemorative edition of Parks and Recreation Magazine, the association's official publication.

Schroeter to Chair association's Food and Safety & Nutrition Section
Christiane Schroeter, associate professor in the Agribusiness Department was elected chair of the Food Safety & Nutrition Section by the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA).

Schroeter launched her two-year term with a workshop on "Behavioral Economics and Obesity" at the recent AAEA annual meeting in San Francisco.

Hendricks Elected Fellow in Academy of Leisure Sciences
Bill Hendricks, professor and head of the Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration Department, was elected to and inducted as a fellow in the Academy of Leisure Sciences in September at the National Recreation and Park Association Conference in Las Vegas. Four individuals were elected fellows out of 14 nominees from throughout North America.

Meet Benoit Lecat

Wine and Viticulture's New Department Head

The College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences has appointed a French educator with a strong background in wine business as head of the university’s Wine and Viticulture Department. 

Benoît Lecat hails from the Burgundy School of Business in Dijon, France. He will play an integral role in helping to raise additional funds needed for the university’s planned Center for Wine and Viticulture. 

With more than 300 students, Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture Department is the largest of its kind in the nation and the only program of its kind to offer an integrated education program focused in three concentration areas: enology, viticulture and wine business. 

The Center for Wine and Viticulture will include sensory, enology and viticulture teaching labs and a commercial-grade bonded winery that will allow students to gain a comprehensive understanding of vineyards and grape cultivation, the winemaking process, and the business of wine marketing and distribution.  

“I am ecstatic to join Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture Department at this momentous time,” Lecat said. “In a very short time, it has become the nation’s top program, and we have strong plans in place to guarantee that our students continue to excel. I look forward to advancing this stellar program further.”     

Lecat earned his undergraduate degree in management and holds two master’s degrees in management and political science from the Catholic University of Mons (FUCAM) in Belgium. He earned a doctorate in management and marketing from the Louvain School of Management in Belgium. 

His research interests are wine pricing, tourism and branding, wine and spirits tourism, and the management of luxury goods.

Ag Matters

California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Emphasizes a Need for Young Leaders in Agriculture Related Fields

Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, addressed a Cal Poly forum of more than 250 people in October, urging students to remain steadfast in their pursuit of agriculture-related degrees. 

Ross addressed issues facing California agriculture today, including climate change, water, innovative technologies, healthy soils and sustainable farming.  The severe impacts of the state’s ongoing four-year drought were at the forefront of the discussion. 

“Out of struggle, leaders are born,” Ross said. “Today’s dialogue is focused, as it should be, on how we use water and how precious it is. The quality and scarcity of it is a global issue.” 

Ross has strengthened partnerships across government, academia and the nonprofit sector in the drive to maintain and improve environmental stewardship and to develop adaptation strategies for the specific impacts of climate change.

“The most important commodity of all is trust,” Ross said. “We need young leaders like you to educate people internationally about sustainability.” 

It was Ross’ third visit to Cal Poly this year in an effort to gather infor-mation from campus leaders on their research and to share available state resources with the university. 

While on campus she spoke to faculty with specific expertise in areas of acute interest to her: hydrology and other water issues, sustainability, animal health, climate change, and healthy soils. 

The forum came on the heels of Ross’ recent visit to Cal Poly’s Swanton Pacific Ranch in Santa Cruz County, where she was particularly interested in the college’s integrated ecological systems approach.