A hands-on learning laboratory and cafe for nutrition majors at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics opened with a ceremony Friday morning.

The Susan R. Klenk Cafe and Kitchens is composed of an experimental food lab kitchen, commercial kitchen, baking nook and a cafe. There is also a video camera system that allows faculty and chef instructors to broadcast classes, food demonstrations and seminars from Falk College to anywhere on campus or across the country, according to an SU News release.

“A generous and visionary gift from Falk College alumna, Susan R. Klenk, made the learning cafe and kitchens possible,” said Michele Barrett, director of communications at Falk.

Barrett said Klenk contacted Falk College with an interest in supporting the project while it was in the early stages of sketching out the teaching kitchens in 2012. Barrett added that hers was one of the first commitments made when they first launched the campaign to raise funds for the Falk Complex renovations.

“Because Susan’s career always revolved around supporting students to help them be successful, she created the Susan R. Klenk Learning Assistantship in September 2009 that allows them to take a leadership role, provide support for classmates and gain valuable management experience,” Barrett said.

Diane Lyden Murphy, dean of Falk, said they have been tremendously proud of partnering with Susan over the years at the opening ceremony on Friday. She added that they were thrilled with the kitchen.

“A year and a half ago this place was a warrant of offices for the law school, you couldn’t find your way through it, and look at it now,” Murphy said.

At the opening ceremony, Chancellor Kent Syverud said the kitchen was a place that will foster the kind of innovation and creativity the university hoped to promote.

He added that he hoped the cafe and the kitchens would help all students who choose to follow a nutrition major.

“Falk College wanted to provide an up-to-date,  hands-on learning laboratory to prepare our students with traditional and emerging professional competencies  for careers in food, nutrition, dietetics and public health,” Barrett said.

The first nutrition course at SU was taught in 1917 and the programs in food and nutrition have adapted to changes in the field, Barrett said.

She added that they have kept up with changes thanks to futuristic visioning, and their facilities have continued to adapt and evolve.

The learning cafe and teaching kitchens set the stage for industry-leading, forward-thinking approaches to food and culture, nutrition, research and food studies development, Barrett said.

“Its design fosters creativity and collaboration across a variety of departments, schools and colleges, creating interdisciplinary partnerships that support teaching innovation, student learning, research and scholarship,” she added.

In addition to unlimited faculty-supervised, hands-on experiences, the kitchen’s dedicated space will provide an ideal environment for student-faculty research projects and educational community partnerships that set the SU programs apart, Barret said. Aside from Falk programs in food, nutrition and public health, there will be opportunities for collaborations with other units on campus, she said.

“I urge students to take advantage of this amazing facility,” Syverud said.

Published on September 18, 2016 at 10:21 pm

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