In the weeks following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, our thoughts have been with the overwhelming number of victims along the Gulf Coast who have lost family and friends, their homes and jobs ... their way of life. Like many of you, those of us in the College of Consumer and Family Sciences wanted to help.

One relief effort that has united faculty, staff, and students in the college is a project to prepare and package kits for adults and children affected by a disaster. The "Health Kits" contain basic hygiene items, such as a washcloth, soap, and a toothbrush. There are also "Kids Kits" which are filled with basic necessities as well as small toys and school supplies.

The desire to help with this project, spearheaded by Judy Myers-Walls, associate professor in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies, spread quickly throughout the college. Even the children in the Purdue Child Care Program and Child Development Laboratory got involved in the project, bringing in donations from home. To date, we have prepared and mailed more than 160 kits. (At right, Judy Myers-Walls works with CFS students to assemble hurricane relief kits.)

Dr. Myers-Walls is also a Purdue Extension specialist and has developed helpful materials on how parents, teachers, and other adults can talk with children about catastrophic events, such as Hurricane Katrina.

For information on helping children understand disaster, please visit the CFS Extension Human Development Web site.

Hail Purdue!

Dennis Savaiano
Dean

Four students from the Dublin Institute of Technology are studying in the Department of Foods and Nutrition this semester in order to complete their research requirements for a degree in dietetics. The exchange program provides the opportunity for foods and nutrition students at Purdue to travel overseas as well as take classes here with students from another country. Read more about the exchange program.   

The Midwestern Work Family Association (MWFA), operated through the Center for Families at Purdue, works with employers throughout the Midwest to promote family-friendly practices in the workplace. Several companies that have been active in MWFA recently made Working Mother magazine's "100 Best Companies," which are noted for their family-friendly work practices. Companies include Abbott, Cinergy Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Northern Trust Corp.; Eli Lilly and Co., a MWFA Vanguard member, made the list's top 10.

CFS has a full slate of Homecoming activities planned for Festive Friday on October 14. Back-to-Class sessions feature CFS alumni speaking on a variety of topics from childhood obesity and travel trends to financial planning and stress prevention. The day concludes with the Boilermaker Night Train Homecoming Parade. For a full list of Homecoming activities, visit the CFS Homecoming page.

Liping Cai, professor, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, has been appointed to the Indiana Tourism Council by Governor Mitch Daniels. The council acts as an advisory body to the Office of Tourism Development, providing recommendations and assistance in strategic tourism planning, research, development, and marketing. One of the council's recent initiatives is the development and promotion of the state's agritourism.

Sharon DeVaney, professor, Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing, and Michele Humbarger, BS '03, were guest speakers for the CFS Freshman Honors Class in September. They talked about ethical values in the classroom and how to begin an undergraduate research project.

Sheryl Kline, assistant professor, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, is the 2005-06 winner of the Arnold I. Cohen Faculty Development Endowment Award. The award is given in memory of Arnold I. Cohen, founder of Arni's Restaurant, an Indiana tradition for more than 40 years. The funds awarded to Kline will support her commitment to develop research expertise on the issue of return on investment in training for hospitality industry businesses.  

Hubert Schmieder, chef emeritus, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, was inducted into the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque, a group of the top 100 chefs in the country. In his 60-year career, Chef Schmieder worked for hotels, airlines, and industry (in the U.S. and Europe), served as team captain of the U.S. Olympic Culinary Team, and earned six international culinary gold medals. He was hired as Purdue's first professional chef, serving as chef instructor at Purdue for 11 years before retiring in 1998. The Golden Toque Award is the most prestigious recognition a chef can receive in the United States and is limited to 100 lifetime members.

Mike Trotter, executive director, Center for Customer Driven Quality, gave several presentations and keynote speeches in September to several companies including Golden Rule, Mentor4, and Trustcorp Mortgage.

Connie Weaver, head and distinguished professor, Department of Foods and Nutrition, is co-editor of a new book, Calcium in Human Health (Humana Press, September 2005). The book provides up-to-date research on calcium function and its relationship to health and has contributions from three other Foods and Nutrition faculty: Carol Boushey, Jim Fleet, and Dorothy Teegarden. Adjunct faculty member Meryl Wastney is also a contributor as well as former graduate student Dan Zhao. Visit the publisher's Web site for more information on the book.

October 14: CFS Alumni Association Board Meeting

October 14-15: Homecoming Weekend

December 18: Winter Commencement

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