Seekers of grants and CTAHR’s researchers are familiar with the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA), one of the four agencies comprising the USDA’s Department of Research, Education, and Economics (REE). The College was recently honored by a visit from what may have been the highest-level USDA official ever to grace our halls: Dr. Catherine Woteki, Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. In town to present at a food security and safety workshop organized by Dean Sylvia Yuen and Russell Kokubun, Director of the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with the APEC conference, Dr. Woteki arranged a day to visit and learn what the College is doing.
After giving a well-attended presentation to CTAHR faculty, staff, and students, Dr. Woteki facilitated a roundtable discussion on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development. Then came a presentation by Rachel Novotny on the Children’s Healthy Living (CHL) Program, recently awarded $25 million to research obesity issues among Pacific Island children. Dr. Woteki then toured Pearl City’s Urban Garden in the company of Master Gardener coordinator Jayme Grzebik and the associate deans, and experienced what a great resource this oasis of green is for its community. She also met with faculty and community clientele and visited the Sumida watercress farm to learn more about the College’s research and extension initiatives. Afterwards Dr. Woteki visited the Fort Shafter Youth Center, where children and youth in the Health, Cooking, and Cloverbud 4-H military clubs showed off health and safety skills they’d learned. At each stop, with each presentation, CTAHR members and community partners were able to demonstrate how important, varied, and necessary the College’s programs are to our stakeholders.
Because it’s all about impact. We can be proud that our programs encouraged a highranking and busy official to dedicate time away from the largest international summit ever held in Hawai‘i to see what CTAHR has to offer—since making an impact on USDA can enable us to make an even greater impact on our community.
