Food Studies News
Falk student research explores right to food violations for transgender youth
“I am passionate about exploring the lived experiences of queer people of color, and especially the complicity of larger institutions and governments in the marginalization of these groups,” they say.
Fry is conducting a research project titled “Body Politics,” which explores human rights violations, and right to food violations in particular, for transgender youth of color in Syracuse, New York. “I am partnering with the Q Center of Central New York to directly engage with these transgender populations in Syracuse,” Fry says.
The food studies program at Syracuse University’s Falk College focuses on issues surrounding food justice, urban food systems, international trade, labor in the food systems, human rights, science, technology, culinary expertise and food enterprise management.
Fry is working with professor Anni Bellows. Under her mentorship, Fry contributed to a joint submission to the May 2020 United Nations Universal Periodic Review of the United States of America, titled “The Human Right to Food in the Context of Political Participation, Equality and Nondiscrimination.” In addition to the Falk College food studies program, other joint contributors on the submission included WhyHunger, FIAN International, the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law, among others.
As a Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) grant recipient, Fry presented their work at the Music and Message program in Hendricks Chapel on October 2. The SOURCE provides expanded funding opportunities and support for diverse undergraduate engagement in faculty-guided scholarly research and creative inquiry across all disciplines and programs at Syracuse University. SOURCE grant recipients will present at the SOURCE Orange Talks and Poster Session on November 15 in Bird Library.
“When I’m not pouring over my research materials, you can find me knitting in the LBGT Resource Center, practicing my yoga inversions, or eating free food around campus!” Fry will study abroad in Chile this spring.
Exploring the role of labor, migration in the food system
Students studying food systems in Falk College’s Department of Nutrition and Food Studies learn about ecological sustainability and social justice as faculty members such as Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern highlight practices like agroecology and food-related social movements. Interactive class discussions shed important light on the role of labor and migration in the food system, exploring interactions between food and racial justice to create a more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive place for immigrant farmers.
In her course FST 310: Labor Across the Food System this fall, students are partnering with the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC United) to conduct surveys with restaurant workers to better understand wage-related issues in the workplace. In FST 303: Food Movements, students each choose a food-related social movement to conduct their own semester-long study of it. She has also worked with undergraduate and graduate students on her own research, analyzing census data, co-authoring research papers, and transcribing and coding interviews.
Minkoff-Zern, an assistant professor of food studies, authored the new book, The New American Farmer: Immigration, Race, and the Struggle for Sustainability (MIT Press). The book looks at the opportunities and challenges for Latino/a immigrant farmers transitioning from farmworkers to farm owners, offering new perspective on racial inequity and sustainable farming. It also makes an intervention on discussions of agricultural sustainability.
She interviewed more than 100 participants including farmers and people who work with them, such as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff, farmers market managers, nonprofit and extension workers, among others. Her observations and interviews of farmers at markets and their farms, and attendance at relevant conferences aimed at outreach to immigrant and other farmers of color, took place over six years and five states, including California, Minnesota, New York, Washington, and Virginia.
“In my research I found that immigrant farmers were largely using what could be described as alternative or sustainable farming practices, yet are not being recognized for their contribution to sustainable food systems, as they are typically not as well networked or savvy at marketing as U.S.-born farmers.”
Minkoff-Zern teaches the course Labor Across the Food System where students learn about labor conditions for farm laborers and those working in food processing, service, and retail, and how that relates to a vision for a more just and ecologically sustainable food system.
Her interviews with farm workers who succeeded in starting their own farms, against the odds, unveiled what barriers they faced due to their specific ethnic and racial identities as immigrants of color.
“When we look at agriculture today, immigrants are not just workers, but they’re people who have a lot of knowledge in agriculture, are very skilled in agriculture, and they have more barriers to owning land and starting a business.” With the release of her book, her research continues, which includes outreach to organizations that are helping immigrant farmworkers transition to owning their farms. Funders for her research include the Association of American Geographers (AAG), the Goucher College Dept of Environmental Studies, and at Syracuse University, Falk College Seed Grant and the Labor Studies Working Group .
Dean Murphy welcomes Falk students to campus
Dear Falk Students,
Welcome back to campus, returning Falk students! Let’s give a very special welcome to the Class of 2023, as well as new transfer and graduate students. We are thrilled to have you join us. I hope you each enjoyed an adventurous and restful summer.
What a special time to be at Syracuse! There are plenty of exciting events planned on campus this semester, including a very special Orange Central homecoming and reunion on September 12-15, which will commemorate 150 years of Syracuse University history.
As we jump right into the Fall 2019 semester, I would like to remind you of some important information that will help you as you begin—or continue—your studies here at Falk College.
Falk College Student Services is your support system. Student Services counselors are here to provide you with private academic advising and help you meet your requirements and goals. In addition, they are your resource for private consultation related to student social and emotional concerns. If you have any concerns throughout your academic career, please contact Student Services or visit Suite 330 Barclay Hall in the Falk Complex.
I encourage you to connect with the staff at Falk Career Services, who can help you prepare for life after college through career exploration, internship and job searching, professional networking, and more. They are also located in Suite 330 Barclay Hall, or you can search for opportunities through Handshake, the University’s job search and professional events portal.
In addition, you can connect to spiritual life on campus at Hendricks Chapel, as well as health and counseling services now open in the Barnes Center at the Arch. Visit news.syr.edu to keep up with Schine Student Center renovations and other important University updates.
The Student Lounge, located in Falk 216, is available to you anytime the Falk Complex is open. The lounge has a microwave, refrigerator, and vending machines for student use. Across the hall is the Falk Café on 2, open 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. In addition to smoothies, make-your-own salads, and wraps, the Café has a grill for sandwiches, hamburgers, veggie burgers, and many other items. Just down the hall is Falk 229, the quiet student lounge.
There are several computer labs in the Falk Complex. Falk 113 is a PC lab, Falk 253 is a Mac lab. Both are available to students at any time. Falk 400 and 407 are PC labs that are also used as teaching classrooms. When class is not in session, they are open for student use. You may check their schedule of availability using the Orange Events website. You may also use the quick-print stations in Falk 216 and 229 for printing and email. These stations log out automatically after 15 minutes of use.
The Student Involvement Fair will be held Wednesday, September 4 on the Quad from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Rain location: Goldstein Auditorium in Schine Student Center). With more than 300 student organizations on campus, you are sure to find something that interests you. I highly encourage each of you to attend.
You can discover activities and events on campus by visiting the University’s new community calendar. You can also follow Falk College and other campus groups on social media.
Syracuse University email is the primary communication method at the University. Your professors and University offices will contact you with important information using your Syracuse University email address (ending in “@syr.edu”), not your personal email address. So, it is essential to read your University email at least once every day.
While I hope this list is helpful, there are many other resources available to you at Syracuse University. Please visit syracuse.edu/life/students to review a more inclusive listing of valuable student resources to enhance your experience at Syracuse.
With that, I wish you the very best for the upcoming Fall 2019 semester. Once again, welcome to Falk College and the Syracuse University family.
Go Orange!
Diane Lyden Murphy, M.A., M.S.W., Ph.D.
Dean
Falk College
Stepping out of the Classroom to Feed the City
In collaborating with local organizations, 25 Food Studies students are helping transform Syracuse’s food system.
Contributions by Megan Falk
Sitting opposite of Kristina Kirby and Twiggy Billue, the project managers, the students give a quick overview of their tentative food justice curriculum. For the last month, they’ve been working with three other classmates to develop lesson plans, which the organization will use for its youth urban farming program this summer. “This is great,” Kirby says. “This is a very good starting point.” Twenty minutes later, Palmero and Bermeo thank the partners, jump in the car, and head back to the university, ready to adjust their lesson plan that will benefit a dozen teenagers in just a few months.
This partnership between a group of college students and an organization working to improve the city’s food system is one of many transcending the town-gown divide in Syracuse, New York. In January, 25 students from Syracuse University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry traded in their textbooks for semester-long partnerships with three local organizations and Syracuse University’s Office of Sustainability to help carry out mutually beneficial projects. The community engagement projects, which are part of the Food Studies program’s Urban Food Systems course, have distinct focuses, including conceptualizing a community kitchen, creating a marketing plan for an urban farm, launching a food pantry, and planning an educational curriculum, among others.
Launched in 2013 by Food Studies Professor Evan Weissman, Urban Food Systems is unlike any other course in the program, offering a hands-on learning experience. In 2014, the class began collaborating with local organizations to help students put the theories they explore in the classroom into practice, enabling them to develop tangible, transferrable skills while making an impact on the community. To Weissman, engaging in this community-based work and efforts toward social change is an important role of the university.
“A lot of Syracuse students don’t get a good opportunity to get out in the community in a meaningful way,” Weissman says. “Using the resources of the university — in this case, I’m thinking of the students, the knowledge they have, and their actual labor — putting those into the community is something to make qualitatively better the food system of Central New York.”
These student-community collaborations enable students to gain a better understanding of course content and exposure to new career paths. Simultaneously, the organizations receive additional human resources to expand their services, as well as fresh ideas on operation improvements, according to research published in Teaching Sociology. Student participation can also allow a partner to focus on other work within the organization or test new business opportunities, Weissman says.
For the past 20 years, Jubilee Homes has run Urban Delights, a summer program dedicated to promoting youth development, as well as raising awareness and conquering issues of food insecurity. The 14 to 21-year-olds who participate in the program run a farm stand and oversee the entire process, from planting the seedling to marketing the produce. While Kristina Kirby, Jubilee Homes’ fiscal manager, already uses an established curriculum for the entrepreneurial aspects of the program, she wanted to develop a set of youth-centric lessons delving into food justice and farming itself.
Covering topics like composting, planting, and agroecology, these lessons can have a positive impact on the teens in the community, helping to reinforce the STEM education they receive in school, says Twiggy Billue, the Build to Work Coordinator of Jubilee Homes who is helping Kirby oversee the project. “When young people really see how food grows, they become stewards of the earth,” Billue says. “They take this knowledge back to school and have a stronger science grade and have a stronger math grade, so that to me has been one of the large successes, that it ties into their everyday life, including school.”
By prompting students to head off campus and apply their education to the city of Syracuse, both Lyons and Kirby hope the projects not only provide students a chance to give back, but also help them gain a better understanding of their community. To Fry, these community engagement projects offer just that.
Falk College welcomes new faculty and staff
Syracuse University’s Falk College is pleased to announce the appointment of new staff members who have joined Falk College in the past academic year, including Karen Goebel, office coordinator in the School of Social Work; Meredith Groman, administrative assistant and Jamie Rhoades, assistant teacher in the Bernice M. Wright Child Development Laboratory School; Kevin McNeill, internship placement coordinator in the Department of Sport Management; Megan Myers, assistant director of development in the Office of Advancement; Kathleen Nasto, office coordinator in the Department of Human Development and Family Science; Jessica Pitcher, career advisor and David Sly, associate director of career services in the Office of Student Services; Laura Sauta, administrative assistant and Megan Snow, internship placement coordinator in the Department of Public Health, and; Zachary Schuster, assistant director of undergraduate admissions and recruiting in the Office of Admissions.
It also welcomes five new faculty members, Justin Ehrlich, Chandice Haste-Jackson, Jeremy Losak, Stefanie Pilkay, and Xiafei Wang.
Justin Ehrlich
Assistant Professor, Department of Sport Management
Justin Ehrlich joins Syracuse University’s Falk College Department of Sport Management as a tenure-track assistant professor in Fall 2019, where he will teach in the area of sport analytics.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Ehrlich taught as an associate professor at Western Illinois University, School of Computer Sciences, since 2010 in Macomb, IL. There, he specialized in data visualization, visual analytics, sport data computation and analysis, machine learning, computer graphics, virtual reality, server-side development, languages and technology. He taught several courses such as Topics of Computer Science: Data Visualization, Operating Systems, Advanced Computer Graphics, Server-Side Development, and served as chair of the Council for Instructional Technology and chair of the IT Governance Executive Committee. He previously worked as an AViSSS (Animated Visual Supports for Social Skills) lead software developer for the University of Kansas and has held roles such as ASP.net developer for Nomise Systems and lead developer for HSSportsTV.net, both in Wichita, KS.
Ehrlich has published several papers in sport data visualization and analysis in Public Choice, Mathematical Social Sciences, Games, and the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sport. He has conducted many talks and live demonstrations on sport data computation, visualization, and analysis that incorporate use of Tableau (with VizQL), R, Python, and D3.
Ehrlich’s research has received support from the U.S. Department of Education, the U3E, and from Falk College. He was awarded the Moore Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award from the University of Kansas School of Engineering, the Provost’s Award for Academic Excellence in Teaching with Technology from Western Illinois University, and several awards from WIU’s College of Business and Technology.
Ehrlich earned a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Kansas in 2010. His dissertation was titled, “The Effect of Desktop Illumination Realism on Presence and Generalization in a Virtual Learning Environment.” He also holds a computer science M.S. earned in 2007 from Wichita State University, and an accounting and business administration B.B.A., earned in 2004 from Friends University in Wichita, KS.
Chandice Haste–Jackson
Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science
Chandice Haste–Jackson is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science beginning Fall 2019.
In addition to working as internship coordinator in Falk College since 2016, Haste-Jackson has served as adjunct faculty in the Department of Human Development and Family Science since 2005, teaching courses such as Intimate Relationships and Gender Roles, Family Development, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She has also taught as adjunct faculty for Onondaga Community College and the American Public University/American Military University System Department of Human Development and Family Science. She previously served in Syracuse University’s School of Education as director of the Liberty Partnerships Program and has held positions at the Chadwick Residence, Inc., the Dunbar Association, and Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility, Inc.
Haste-Jackson serves on the School Counselor Advisory Board for the Syracuse City School District and is a consultant for My Brother’s Keeper Syracuse initiative founded by President Obama.
Haste-Jackson has presented for the Society for Research on Adolescence in San Francisco, CA and the National Council on Family Relations in Orlando, FL. She has given presentations for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement in Washington, DC, the New York State Education Department Empire State Youth Summit in Albany, NY, Ethiraj College and Women’s Christian College in Chennai, India, as well as for the National Diversity Council’s Upstate New York College Diversity Summit in Syracuse, NY, among others.
Haste-Jackson’s work in urban youth development, vulnerable families, cross-cultural family dynamics, and diversity education has received support from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York State Office of Temporary Disability Assistance, New York State Legislature-Joan Christensen, Onondaga County Department of Long-Term Care and Aging Services, Onondaga County Youth Bureau, Onondaga County Department of Health, Onondaga County Department of Social Services, United Way of Central New York, and Syracuse University.
Haste-Jackson earned a Ph.D. in child and family studies from Syracuse University in 2013. Her dissertation was titled, “Strengths and Risk Factors for Romantic Relationships: Perspectives of African American Women.” She also holds a M.S. in behavioral sciences with a concentration in psychology, earned from Cameron University in 1999, and a B.A. in cultural anthropology, earned from Syracuse University in 1996.
Jeremy Losak
Assistant Professor, Department of Sport Management
Jeremy Losak joins Syracuse University’s Falk College Department of Sport Management as a tenure-track assistant professor in Fall 2019, where he will teach in the areas of sport management and sport analytics.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Losak was a graduate assistant in the John E. Walker Department of Economics at Clemson University. His teaching experience includes positions as teaching assistant for Sport Economics, teaching assistant and later head teaching assistant for Undergraduate Principles of Microeconomics and Principles of Macroeconomics, and teaching assistant for Managerial Economics. In the sports industry, he was a baseball analytics consultant for Wasserman Media Group, marketing analytics consultant for The Madison Square Garden Company, and analytics intern for the Auburn Doubledays.
Losak’s research focus is in sports economics, particularly sport labor markets and betting markets. He is published in Managerial Finance and in the Academy of Economics and Finance Journal. He has given several presentations at venues such as the 2019 Eastern Economic Association Conference in New York, NY; the 2018 Southern Economic Association in Washington, DC; the 2018 Missouri Valley Economic Association’s Sports Economics Session in Memphis, TN, and; the Center for Research in Sports Administration’s Sports, Data, and Journalism Conference at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
Losak is the recipient of a Junior Researcher Award for the 2018 Sports, Data, and Journalism Conference at the University of Zurich and the Distinguished Student Paper Award at the 2018 Missouri Valley Economic Association Conference. He is also the recipient of travel grants from the Institute for Humane Studies Hayek Fund and Clemson Graduate Travel Grant Service. He was named a 2016 Falk College Class Marshal and a Falk College Scholar while at Syracuse University.
Losak earned a Ph.D. in economics from Clemson University in 2019 where he was a Koch Fellow in the John E. Walker Department of Economics. He also earned a B.S. in sport management from Syracuse University’s Falk College in 2016.
Stefanie Pilkay
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Stefanie Pilkay joins Syracuse University’s Falk College School of Social Work as a tenure-track assistant professor in Fall 2019.
Before joining Syracuse University, Pilkay served as an adjunct lecturer at both Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work in New York, NY since 2018 and the University of Tennessee, College of Social Work in Knoxville, TN since 2015, teaching research methodology, trauma theory and practice, lifespan and neurophysiological development, and human behavior in the social environment. She was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Atlanta, GA since 2017. She has served as a court-appointed special advocate for Anderson County Tennessee Juvenile Court. In 2014, she was a forensic social worker for the Community Law Office, Knox County Public Defender’s Office. Specific to her research experience, Pilkay has served since 2018 as an early investigator trainee on “Developmental Origins of Health and Disease,” an international cross-discipline research study with collaborations between Canada and the U.S.
Pilkay’s research interests include trauma, early-life adversity, inter-generational transmission of adversity, adversity and trauma mechanisms for risk and resilience in human development. She is published in the Journal of Social Work Education, the Journal of Social Service Research, and has given several peer-reviewed presentations, most recently at the 64th Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education in Orlando, FL, Connecting for Children’s Justice Conference in Murfreesboro, TN, the International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect in Prague, Czech Republic, and the 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in New York, NY. Pilkay’s work has been supported by the National Institute of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the University of Tennessee Health and Science Center.
Pilkay earned a Ph.D. in social work with a minor in graduate statistics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2017. She holds a M.S. in social work, an evidence-based interpersonal practice major with trauma treatment graduate certification, and a B.S. in social work with majors in honor’s social work and psychology, earned in 2014 and 2013, respectively, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Xiafei Wang
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Xiafei Wang joins Syracuse University’s Falk College School of Social Work as a tenure-track assistant professor in Fall 2019.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Wang served as a research assistant on “Evaluation of Chinese National Working Committee on Children and Women & the United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Child Friendly Spaces Project in China,” funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund: China since 2017, and on “Improving Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Health Outcomes: Integrative Family and Systems Treatment (I-Fast) Integrated Episode of Care Model” since 2014, funded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services and Department of Developmental Disability.
Wang has published peer-reviewed articles in Social Work Research, Journal of Social Service Research, The Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, Children and Youth Services Review, Journal of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, PsyCh Journal, Community Mental Health Journal, Child Psychiatry and Human Development, Child Abuse & Neglect, and Social Work in Mental Health, as well as multiple book chapters.
Wang recently presented at the 32nd Annual San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment in San Diego, CA, the Council of Social Work Education 64th Annual Program Meeting in Orlando, FL, National Association of County and City Health Officials 2018 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development 2018 in Dublin, Ireland, ResilienceCon 2018 in Nashville, TN, and the Society for Social Work and Research 22nd Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., among other presentations.
Wang’s work has received support from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Big Cities Health Coalition, Central Benefits Health Care Foundation, and the Ohio State University College of Social Work.
Wang earned a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 2019. Her dissertation was titled, “Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Trauma: A Mixed-Methods Study.” There, she also earned her M.S.W. in 2015. She earned a M.A. in social work and social policy from Peking University in 2012 and a L.L.M. from the Peking University Law School & The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Beijing, China and Lund, Sweden in 2011, where she was named valedictorian. She also earned a B.A. in social work from Peking University in 2009.
Welcome Class of 2023!
Falk College welcomes the Class of 2023 including 307 first-year and 20 transfer students who join 140 graduate students who are new as well. Welcome back to all Falk students who, this year, represent 40 states and 30 countries!
The entire welcome week schedule for new students can be found by visiting the Syracuse Welcome website.
2018-2019: A Year In Review
Newsletter of the Graduate Program in Food Studies
Inside this Issue
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On October 4, St. Paul, Minnesota-based, 2017 McKnight Distinguished Artist, Dr. Seitu Jones gave a lecture titled “CREATE: Art, Act & Eat,” where he discussed how he draws from both food and activism to inspire his public art projects, and how these components bring about new community stories. On October 6, Jones led a hands-on workshop at local Brady Faith Farm connecting food stories and community art.
On October 30, Food Studies co-hosted a roundtable panel titled “Migrant Rights and the Labor of Food Justice, A Platica” with Dr. Steven Alvarez from St. John’s University Department of English, Crispin Hernandez from the Workers Center of CNY and Food Studies professor Dr. Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, Steven’s scholarship contributes to ongoing research concerning literacy, foodways, immigration, and writing studies, focusing on the humanizing element of sharing food as a form of social care. The Workers Center of CNY discussed current labor and legal struggles of immigrant farmworkers in New York State. Dr. Minkoff-Zern’s interdisciplinary work on food and racial justice, transnational agricultural projects, and migrant health helped to frame contemporary social justice issues for migrant workers.
On October 31, Food Studies hosted Canadian food policy analyst and writer Wayne Roberts, who spoke about his time as manager of the Toronto Food Policy Council from 2000-2010. He presented on aspects from his book, “The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food,” about the relation of the global food system to climate change and economic disaster.
On February 14, the Food Studies program co-sponsored Dr. Sarah Bowen of North Carolina State University and Dr. Joslyn Brenton of Ithaca College as they presented their 2019 book, “Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Solve Our Problems and What We Can Do About It.” In their talk they urged folks to look beyond romantic images of family-style meals to find fixes to the food system that are fair, equitable, and nourishing.
On April 8, the department hosted Dr. Jahi Chappell for a lecture on his 2018 book, “Beginning to End Hunger: Lessons on food security, transformation, and solidarity in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.” Dr. Chappell is a Senior Research Fellow of Agroecology and Agricultural Policy at Coventry University. He discussed the research he conducted on Brazil’s novel approach to ending hunger, offering ideas about how to enact policies that improve city food security.
Graduate Student Highlights
Maegan Krajewski
Adrianne Traub
Katie Mott
Katie Mott served as a Graduate Research Fellow in the Lerner Center for Public Health and Promotion this year in addition to her role as a Teaching Assistant for Food Studies courses. Her research brief, “Lotta Food, No Money: Syracuse’s Poor Have Challenges that are Much Bigger than Food Access,” was published on February 12. In it, she discusses the findings from her research after the closing of a locally-owned grocery store in Syracuse’s Near Westside neighborhood. Mott was interviewed on local station NPR about this work. Mott will defend her thesis research, also related to food access and the closing of the Nojaim Brothers grocery store, in summer 2019.
Cheyenne Schoen
Cheyenne Schoen conducted research with the Syracuse Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment agricultural partnership program for her thesis. In October she presented preliminary findings from her research at the 2019 Graduate Association for Food Studies conference, and will present the final version at the 2019 ASFS/AFHVS conference. She served on the editorial board of the Graduate Journal of Food Studies and as a Research Assistant for the Food Studies department.
William Cecio
William Cecio (B.S. 2017) served as Research and Teaching Assistants for Food Studies. His practicum research will involve urban food governance. He will present his research, “Urban Food Governance and Social Reproduction: A Literature Review” at the 2019 ASFS/AFHVS conference. Cecio has a bachelor in Food Studies from Falk College.
Sara Weber
Sara Weber was accepted to present her research project, “Examining Food Waste in the Hospitality Industry: How Can Guests and Hotels Prevent and Reduce Food Waste at the Preparation and Consumption Points of the Food Supply Chain?” at the 2019 ASFS/AFHVS conference. She holds bachelor in Sociology and Political Science from Utah State University and is the House Director of Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity at SU.
Camila Ferguson-Sierra
Camila Ferguson-Sierra was a Teaching Assistant and her work, “Palm Oil, Food Insecurity, and Land in Colombia: A Literature Review,” was accepted as a 2019 ASFS/AFHVS conference presentation. Ferguson-Sierra has a bachelor in Conservation Biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Maryssa Schlough
Maryssa Schlough is conducting research on school food programming in Onondaga County for her practicum project. Schlough comes to the program with background as a Youth Farm Educator for Montezuma Farm to School Program. She has a bachelor in International and Global Studies from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Collin Townsend
Collin Townsend (B.S. 2018) plans to conduct his thesis research on the restaurant industry in Syracuse. He is a Research Assistant for the Food Studies department, an experienced chef with over a decade of experience, and owns CJT Food Business Consulting firm. He has worked as a research assistant on the FoodPlanCNY project and as a Workforce Educator at With Love Onondaga Community College. He holds a bachelor in Food Studies Falk College.
Alumni News
Briana Alfaro, MS, 2018 joined the staff of Northeast Organic Farming Association New York (NOFA-NY) as their Outreach Coordinator in Fall 2018. She is also beginning a flower farm in Syracuse.
Irma Nurliawati, MS, 2018 works as an Agri-Food Quality Inspector at the Plant Biosafety Division, Agricultural Quarantine Agency, Ministry of Agriculture in the Republic of Indonesia.
Hillary Chartron-Bartholomew, MS, 2018 works as the Director of Human Resources, Information Technology, Communications & Operations at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County.
Molly Ennist, MS, 2018 works as a budget analyst for the New York State Department of Education.
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Food Studies program helps bring year-round fresh produce
Earlier this year, the Food Studies Program in Falk College worked with the Adirondack North Country Association, a nonprofit that connects university and K-12 institutions with local farms, to bring to campus Kevin Richardson, Agbotic Farms executive vice president of sales and operations. Richardson met with Sustainability Management and Food Services staff, and Food Studies faculty, and a partnership was created.
Food Services and Sustainability Management staff took a trip to the farm to learn more about the operation. “The Food Services team was excited to make the visit to determine if their products would be a good fit for Syracuse University,” says Mark Tewksbury, director of residential dining. The University does its best to serve locally grown produce, but that has proven to be a challenge with New York’s short growing season.
Part of the review process involved learning if students liked the product. Food Services invited Agbotic Farms to share their produce at a Wednesday Feedback event at the Ernie Davis Dining Center this past February. Response to the baby greens was overwhelmingly positive. “The greens are new, fresh and a bit sweet,” remarked one of the student taste testers.
Read more about this partnership and the farm
Message from Dean Murphy
The Falk College Office of the Dean, faculty, staff, and students extend our most heartfelt condolences and stand in solidarity with our colleagues and friends at the Newhouse School following the passing of their esteemed and beloved Dean Lorraine Branham. The meaningful orange ribbons adorning the trees surrounding Newhouse, placed following yesterday’s vigil, are a beautiful reminder of her lasting influence on the lives of those closest to her, as well as those across campus and beyond. Her love and contributions to Newhouse will be realized well into the future as a great legacy. An inspiring leader and a dear friend, we carry her in our hearts.
Read the Message from Chancellor Kent Syverud
2019 Falk Student Research Celebration Takes Place March 26-29
Falk students are invited to submit posters for completed or in-progress empirical, exploratory, policy analytic or hypothesis-driven research projects using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods for display, judging, and awards in the 2019 Falk Student Research Celebration March 26-29. The multi-day event will highlight Falk students’ research collaborations and their dedication to advancing research knowledge.
Poster entry forms are due March 7 and poster submissions are due March 21. Posters will be on display beginning March 26 near the second floor student lounge and the Falk Café on 2 in the Falk Complex, with judging and awards taking place March 27. Students will present their posters from 12 to 1 p.m. on March 27 and 28.
The Falk College Office of Research Development promotes a robust, collaborative research community in which students play an active role. At Falk, graduate and undergraduate students have the opportunity to work directly with faculty to collect data, analyze findings and draw conclusions on relevant topics surrounding public health, food studies, nutrition, sport management, human development and family science, social work, and marriage and family therapy.
“Conducting research as a student has many benefits, including building a strong relationship with Falk faculty members, improving writing and statistical analysis skills, and creating connections both on and off campus,” says instructor Jessica L. Garay. “Because much of the research in Falk College has real-world implications, we want students to be able to share their findings publicly, and the Falk Student Research Celebration is the perfect opportunity to do so.”
“The student research days is a great showcase of the work our students are doing to understand the world and the human condition,” says assistant professor David Larsen. “It’s always fun to see the new ideas that our students have, and how they are seeking to improve the world we live in.”
Assistant professor Bhavneet Walia agrees. “It’s a great way to quench your curiosity,” she says. “Come see what our students are up to at the Falk Student Research Celebration.”
Winners of the 2018 Falk Student Research Celebration, held March 27-30, 2018, included research in a wide range of topics, such as maternal health, accessibility, and PTSD.
For more information about the 2019 Falk Student Research Celebration, contact Amy Dumas adumas@syr.edu at the Falk College Office of Research Development.
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