Faculty Awarded Facility, Instruction Grants
April 26, 2024
Replacing outdated or broken equipment and facilities. Adding new technology and creating new curriculum to better prepare students for work in their chosen fields.
Ten faculty members in the Huntley College of Agriculture were awarded a total of nearly $170,000 in campus funding to create innovative instructional programs or to modernize classrooms.
The funding was awarded through Cal Poly Pomona’s Special Projects for Improving the Classroom Experience (SPICE) program, which are funded through the university’s Student Success Fee.
The SPICE program aims to improve student learning by supporting innovative teaching methods and enhancing classroom and lab equipment.
Cal Poly Pomona faculty members submitted proposals by Jan. 26.
The SPICE committee – which includes members from each college’s faculty, Associated Students Inc., and university staff – reviewed the proposals before announcing the grant awards on April 16.
The process was extremely competitive: more than $1.1 million in proposals were made for classroom modernization, and nearly $900,000 in proposals for instructional innovation – far more than the funding available.
The maximum award was $30,000.
Faculty who received SPICE grants were (by department):
Assistant Professor Eeman At-Taras
Department of Animal & Veterinary Science
$4,075 to replace two broken freezers used to store fresh specimens for multiple labs in anatomy, clinical anatomy, endocrinology, and nutrition. Fresh specimens allow students to engage with materials more realistically and practically than using alternatives such as pictures and models.
Associate Professor Jiangning Che
Department of Apparel Merchandising & Management
$12,959 to replace old and broken flammability testing equipment in the department’s textile lab. Using the equipment gives students indispensable technical skills and meets program goals of giving graduates expertise in current technology, products, and process knowledge.
Assistant Professor David Driscoll
Department of Animal & Veterinary Science
$30,000 to replace two outdated anesthesia machines used in spaying and neutering operations in a surgical learning lab course. The new machines will improve patient, student, and instructor safety; it will also give students experience with equipment similar to what they will use in animal hospitals after graduation.
Associate Professor David Edens
Department of Nutrition & Food Science
$25,000 to update a kitchen in Building 7, Room 113 for health and safety concerns and to meet industry standards. The current facility has deteriorated from heavy use, raising sanitation and food safety issues; in addition, it reflects the old “consumer science” kitchen style, rather than the food industry, which is the focus of the current curriculum.
Assistant Professor Belal Hasan
Department of Nutrition & Food Science
$21,665 to revamp the senior capstone lab course, which contained outdated experiments. The project will replace lab equipment, revise the course contents, and introduce new instructional modalities including serving learning, micro internships, and hybrid activities.
Assistant Professor Kellene Isom
Department of Nutrition & Food Science
$30,000 to update the medical nutrition therapy lab course to provide students with learning activities that simulate working with patients. This will prepare students to work with a diverse patient population that have a variety of health conditions; it will also provide learning opportunities for dietetic students unable to work in a hospital or clinical setting where they could gain these skills.
Assistant Professor Julie Lee
Department of Agribusiness & Food Industry Management/Agricultural Science
$7,566 to create a four-week instructional module where students will learn how to assess the environmental impact of food products’ life cycles in the supply chain, from production to consumption. “Life cycle assessment” has become an important concept in sustainable product manufacturing.
Assistant Professor Seoha Min
Department of Apparel Merchandising & Management
$24,135 to acquire Alvanon physical dress forms to give students experience with fashion industry sizing practices, understanding of diverse body types, and integrating virtual and physical garments.
Assistant Professor Eshwar Ravishankar
Department of Plant Science
$9,585 to restructure a course about technological innovations in plant science by purchasing sensors, cameras, and other equipment for precision agriculture. The course will give students valuable hands-on learning experience. Surveys have shown that farmers and retailers are having difficulties finding qualified job candidates in areas of precision agriculture software and controls who also are able to make management recommendations.
Assistant Professor Fatheema Subhan
Department of Nutrition & Food Science
$3,950 to develop methods to evaluate the effectiveness of a class on food insecurity and nutrition disparities in minority communities on student learning,disseminating the information to the scientific community.