UMES faculty, staff, students and administrators were all on hand to help President Heidi Anderson welcome Maryland legislators and UMES alumni to the west wing of the Miller Senate Office Building in Annapolis, Md. on Wednesday, February 12.
Agriculture and healthcare initiatives supported the theme for the evening, wherein visitors were met with scholars and professors who offered fun as well as important facts (and some activities) about six different UMES programs that are important to the region and to the state. Three programs from the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions were highlighted: kinesiology, rehabilitation, and a post baccalaureate certificate program in rural health disparities and social inequities. From the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, the programs on display included the 2020 Industrial Hemp Pilot Research Program, the Center for Food Science and Technology, and the UMES Extension program titled, Well Connected Communities – A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Initiative.
The 2020 Industrial Hemp Pilot Research Program is led by Dr. Sadanand Dhekney, associate professor of genetics and plant breeding. Spurred on by recent legislation intended to regulate the commercial production of industrial hemp in the United States, UMES committed to partnering with local farmers while studying the production and management of the crop. By all accounts, the program has enjoyed a successful first year, with 11 partnering farmers to date. One highlight of the program is the research team’s hemp plot, planted for CBD production, at the UMES Education and Demonstration Farm. Community farmers and gardeners visiting the location have the opportunity to see the crop at various developmental stages and to obtain information about hemp production as they endeavor to grow it on their own land. In addition, several research projects have been conducted, with some concerning hemp diseases and disorders. October 2019, more than 200 participants attended the inaugural UMES hemp conference. The university’s 2020 Industrial Hemp Pilot Research Program application has just been released.
Dr. Salina Parveen, professor of food and environmental microbiology within the Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Sciences, is a name at UMES that’s synonymous with food safety. Within the department’s Center for Food Science and Technology, she and her equally talented colleagues undertake research related to the safety and quality of foods. Modern classrooms with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment support quality teaching and offers space for workshops and similar outreach activities. In addition to training students at the master’s and doctoral levels for careers as food scientists, food chemists, food microbiologists, processing engineers, research scientists, and educators, the food science and technology team assists companies with product development and conducts research leading to the value-added processing of underused raw materials or wastes.
As nutrition and health programs director for UMES Extension, Dr. Virginie Zoumenou leads the UMES Well Connected Communities Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Initiative. As a result of her work and the work of her team, approximately 250 youth, 50 adults, 12 community-based organizations, seven businesses, and eight government agencies are involved with the project. It is flourishing in three of the nine counties that make up the Eastern Shore of Maryland: namely, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester. Through the collaborative efforts of the WCC project, a farmers market policy has been voted on and passed; five mini-orchards have been established, with three at three different Head Start centers; and three community projects have been implemented by active youth and adults in the community: Healthy Street-Healthy Me, Make Fruits Available to All, and a Reading and Group Therapy Garden.
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