Meat + Poultry - December 2005 - 20

Higher learning
Leaders of top university programs
say teaching goes beyond the classroom

he heads of leading university
graduate programs serving the
meat and poultry industry say
today's students face the challenge of
not only becoming proven scientists,
but must attain a general knowledge
of business while keeping a finger on
industry trends, all while working effectively in team environments. Preparing to work in product development
or quality assurance now requires a diverse education with communication
skills becoming as important as the
science of food safety.
Dr. Melvin Hunt, chairman of food
science and industry at Kansas State
Univ., Manhattan, says the graduate
program in meat science includes a diverse curriculum.
"A lot of the master's people are not
real sure where they want to go," he
says. However, he adds, they are all interested in whether or not there are jobs
available, which there are.
Often, once students get involved in
the K.S.U. program options, he says,
"Many are surprised to see that the
meat science area with a master's or
Ph.D. degree is pretty broad." Opportunities span many specialties, including
technical services, sales and marketing, consumer-focused services, Q.A.,
production, food safety and HACCP,
microbiology and more.
To stay in stride with what is being
emphasized by processors, university
instructors must ensure their curriculum addresses trends in the industry.
As of late, those trends have revolved
around food safety. To that end, K.S.U.

MEAT&POULTRY

December 2005

has added more courses in HACCP
applications, advanced HACCP and
pathogen control, says Michael Dikeman, professor of animal sciences and
industry. "That would be some of the
biggest changes in the past few years,"
he says. Animal handling and the ethics of animal agriculture are other areas of growing interest throughout the
industry that are being addressed at the
academic level, he adds.
When recruiting students, Dikeman
says companies look to the universities
to provide a sound, fundamental base in
chemistry, biology, microbiology, statistics and some meat science. Sensory
evaluation is another sought after specialty. With this basic skill set, says Hunt,
most companies are capable of training
employees in their specific market.
Diversity within specialties is also
a trend, says Hunt. For example, "The
line dividing meat science and food
science is being blurred," he notes.
"There are advantages to saying you
are in food science and you also know
something about muscle biology and
muscle chemistry."
Similarly, research conducted by
graduate students tends to address realworld issues in the industry. "Projects
are designed to further development of
enhanced meat concepts, case-ready
packaging, traceability and animal
I.D.," says Hunt.
Getting beyond textbooks and lectures
is an important goal of the school's graduate programs. Hunt and his colleagues
emphasize the value of troubleshooting
in their teaching. "Students are going to

www.MEATPOULTRY.com

By Joel Crews
jcrews@sosland.com

eventually encounter situations where
they need to help people think their way
through (processing) problems by uncovering the reason and finding solutions.
We try to help them prepare for that,"
Hunt says.
Food safety focus
Dr. Walter Bottje, department head
and director of the Center of Excellence
for Poultry Science at the Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville, agrees that because
food safety is a theme throughout the
industry, it is also the emphasis in the
classrooms at U of A. More recently,
animal welfare issues have become an
area of emphasis as have issues related
to the environment. To this end, Bottje
says the department is hoping to hire a
faculty member specializing in animal
welfare in the coming year to address
the growing interest.
He adds that hands-on experience
and exposure to the poultry industry
are valuable parts of the educational
process at U of A. Bottje encourages
students to participate in internships,
many of which are paid, to provide
students with real-world perspectives.
Internships also can serve as a foot in
the door when the hosting company is
hiring for a position. To give students
an idea of the career possibilities early
in their academic pursuits, undergraduate students are required to enroll in
a "poultry careers" course to expose
them to job opportunities beyond the
processing line.
U of A students and faculty enjoy
the luxury of having Tyson Foods as a

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Meat + Poultry - December 2005

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