Faculty Senate unanimously voted in favor of the Food and Nutrition program moving from the College of Education and Human Development to the College of Health and Human Services.
One reason for the move is the program’s focus, which is based more on science than education. Because of that, the program would fit better in Health and Human Services, said Dawn Anderson, associate professor in Nutrition Sciences.
Additionally, Food and Nutrition students and faculty would be better positioned to interact with Health and Human Services students and faculty. For students, that interaction could better prepare them for health care professions.
“We’re leaning more toward being a team approach in health care,” Anderson said. “A lot of dieticians are in the hospitals or in nursing homes working with physicians and other caregivers coming up with care plans.”
The move could also aid in recruitment.
“Potential students looking for dietetics or nutrition sciences majors usually go first to the College of Health and Human Services to search us out instead of the College of Education and Human Development,” Anderson said.
That may be because Food and Nutrition has a lot in common with Health and Human Services majors, which is another reason Food and Nutrition faculty supports changing colleges.
“We looked at all the programs in the College of Health and Human Services and saw strong linkages in each and every one of them with our nutrition program,” said Rebecca Pobocik, another associate professor in Nutrition Sciences.
Faculty Senate voted 57-0 in favor of the move.
Sustainability Coordinator Nick Hennessy updated Faculty Senate on the Climate Action Plan, which details how the University will meet its goal of being carbon neutral by 2040. The document addresses energy, transportation, waste, purchasing and education and research.
About half of the University’s emissions are due to electricity.
“We don’t have a lot of control over where we get our electricity,” Hennessy said. “A lot of it is coal-based at this point, but we’re working towards making that a greener profile.”
What the University does have more control over is how much electricity is used. Reductions have been made in that area by updating lights to LEDs and installing motion sensors.
While the impact of education on reduction can’t be measured, it’s another element of the plan. Goals in that area include increasing awareness of climate change and strengthening the sustainability minor.
Overall, the University must reduce emissions by four percent per year on average to meet the 2040 goal, Hennessy said.
Provost Rodney Rogers provided an update on the process of approving courses for the updated BG Perspective program that will go into effect next fall.
So far, 44 course proposals have been approved and 14 have been denied. Some denied proposals have been updated and resubmitted.
Of the proposals still under review, 18 have been approved by the BG Perspective committee and are awaiting Rogers’ final decision. Another 79 proposals [about half of the 155 total submitted] are currently under review by the committee.
The deadline for full approval [by the committee and Rogers] is Dec. 31. Courses approved later can be added to the BG Perspective program, but not for the fall
2015 semester.
