By Judith Cameron

The College of Natural
Resources and the Environment’s
Food Science Advisory Board, believed to be the first industrial advisory group on campus, has much to brag about: raising money for fellowships and professorships, creating strategic alliances between industry and academia, and helping make the department one of the
world’s greatest. Its latest self imposed challenge is fundraising for new laboratories for a Center for Health & Wellness, a new research institute that holds the promise of improving the health benefits, nutritional quality, and safety of food.

One of the movers and shakers for the new center is Noel E. Anderson ’74, ’80G, a long-time advisory board member and its chair since 2000. Having earned his undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate degrees from UMass Amherst, Anderson is in charge of worldwide technical insights for the Pepsi Cola Company, which also includes products made by Quaker Foods, Tropicana, and Gatorade. Anderson says the potential for the center is far reaching: State-of-the art research labs will be designed to foster increased collaborations across other disciplines that will be essential to discovering ways to make food more healthful and nutritious. The research in the new facility will attract competitive grant awards as well as the best and brightest faculty and students.

“The new center will undertake the kind of science that both consumers and the food industry demand. It’s no longer acceptable merely to have food products taste good or look good. You really have to offer products that provide meaningful health benefits to by success of other fundraising campaigns, the board this fall officially launched its most ambitious campaign thus far: $2 million to renovate vacant space in Chenoweth Laboratory for the new center. Some $1.2 million already has been raised and construction is scheduled to begin in early 2009 and will take one year to complete. The new center will be named after beloved Fergus M. Clydesdale ’66G, who retired in June after serving as head of the department for two decades and teaching some 15,000 students “Food Science 101.” Clydesdale designed the popular course for students outside of the food science major. (See Clydesdale discuss the impacts the center will have on health at umassmag.com/clydesdale)

The importance of building new lab space devoted to food science cannot be overstated, says food science professor and new head of the department Eric A. Decker ’89G, a faculty member since 1993. “The new lab goes hand-in-hand with strengthening research, strengthening the curriculum, and finding answers to complex food and nutrition issues,” says Decker. His research has found ways to fortify foods such as yogurt, ground turkey, salad dressing, and ice cream with Omega-3 fatty acids, a highly unstable substance that is essential for health and disease prevention. “There are a lot of challenges in food science. If it was easy to design foods that tasted good and are good for you, it would have been done a long time ago,” notes Decker.

With its commercial applications, the new research will benefit many of the companies represented by the 27-member advisory board: a who’s who of food company giants such as PepsiCo, Kraft, General Mills. and Massachusetts firms such as Oceanspray, H.P. Hood, and Welch’s. The board’s creation was a response by savvy friends and department faculty members who rallied to thwart elimination of the small department during a budget crisis. That was 18 years ago. The board not only helped prevent the demise of food science on campus but has witnessed the department grow into one of the world’s greatest food science departments, according to several measurements. Serving as a model for other schools and colleges, the board has become a powerhouse for fundraising.

Highlights of its accomplishments are: raised $1 million for four graduate student fellowships; generated $600,000 for the Fergus M. Clydesdale professorship; contributed to the $1.5 million Frederick J. Francis Endowed Chair; and spearheaded the creation of the Strategic Research Alliance, a partnership with 26 companies which have donated $1 million.

For the Andersons, food science at UMass Amherst is a family affair.   The genealogy: The late Edward E. Anderson received his bachelor’s, ’41 master’s ’42 and doctorate ’49 degrees and early in his career taught in the food science department. His son, Noel Anderson’s first degree was awarded in ’74 followed by a master’s ’76 and a PhD ’80. While an undergraduate, Noel met his wife, Donna M. (Fafard) Anderson, who has a bachelor’s ’76 and master’s ’78. There is still more: Dulce M. (Anderson) Santos, Noel’s sister, is a ’77 food science graduate; Donna’s brother, Richard D. Fafard earned his bachelor’s degree from the department in ’81 and master’s ’83. Elva F. Anderson, Noel’s mother, is a member of the School of Education Class of ’48.