Page 6 - Impact Summer 2021

GRADUATE STUDENTS KAYLA LAW (LEFT),
AND SANTIAGO ZABALA (IN PEN), WORKED WITH
LEE JOHNSTON (IN HAT) TO ENGAGE K–12 STUDENTS.
“Why do pigs snort?” “Is there a difference between organic and conventional milk?”
“Can pigs get coronavirus?”
These questions, along with numerous others, were asked by curious K-12 students during “Stump the Scientist” virtual sessions at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC).
In a typical year, the WCROC in Morris, Minnesota, would welcome hundreds of students to the Center for field trips and farm tours. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, they had to develop alternative yet engaging learning opportunities to provide outreach and education.
Using an iPad and Zoom, they logged in from their livestock facilities and connected with classrooms. Students got an up-close view of sows in a farrowing barn, cows with their newly born calves, and graduate students taking research samples. Students were charged with the task of asking questions of faculty and staff in order to “Stump the Scientist.”
“The students really engaged in this challenge! Students asked questions related to pig production, pig behavior, and pork meat,” said Lee Johnston, PhD, swine scientist at the WCROC. “It was interesting to see what aspects of pig production they were curious about.”
The program’s primary goal was to give students and teachers a behind-the-scenes look at research projects, their impact on food production, and how students might envision a career for themselves in agriculture.
“Students were excited to learn about dairy cows and see a calf after it was born. They were curious how we raise our calves, and what they eat and drink to become a milking cow in just two years,” said Brad Heins, PhD, dairy scientist at the WCROC.
Funding for Stump the Scientist was supported by generous donations from WCROC’s 2020 Give to the Max Day campaign.
Nurturing legacies
CFANS Professors
and Directors Emeriti
Jean Kinsey and
Frank Busta are one
generous couple with
two different giving
priorities — yet they
share a philosophy:
Give back. Give to
your passion, give to
what you hope for — give to nurture a legacy.
“I had the best job in the world,” said
Kinsey, reflecting on her 34 years working with graduate students in the Department of Applied Economics and as Founder/Director of The Food Industry Center. “I had the opportunity to develop my passion at a place that was very good for me.”
When she retired in 2010, it was harder to get funding for student research than it was earlier in her career. “I wanted to give back... to ensure this work continues,” she said. She created the Jean Kinsey Graduate Fellowship to help students whose research focuses on the economics of consumer behavior, the food supply chain, marketing, and public policy impact on health and wellbeing.
Kinsey enjoys interacting with the fellowship recipients and learning about their passions and aspirations. She donates annually to the fund and includes it in her estate plan.
Busta, a long-time President’s Club member, retired in 2014 after a 33-year career as professor and head in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, and Advisor and Director for the National Center for Food Protection
and Defense. After his first wife, Beverly, died, he created a memorial fund in the College of Education and Human Development to help her memory and passion live on, and he started thinking of his own legacy.
Food safety and defense is his passion, and knowing the lack of recognition for this critical area, he made plans in his estate to reward faculty working in food safety and defense — the Busta Faculty Award.
FRANK BUSTA AND JEAN KINSEY
STUMP THE
SCIENTIST
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