PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University Professor Kim Kidwell has earned the Common Reading Excellence Award from the WSU University College for her use of Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” in Agricultural and Food Systems 101 class.
Kidwell, who also serves associate dean for academic programs in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, used the book as the basic framework for the course. She invited representatives from a variety of agriculture industries and academic disciplines to speak each week during fall semester 2009 and opened those sessions to the WSU community at large.
CAHNRS also created a “Food for Thought” Web site that included features such as interactive blog, an “Ag Word of the Week” and media coverage of agricultural and food-related issues as part of its participation in the Common Reading program. The college also worked with WSU Dining Services to place an “Ag Word of the Week” on in dining halls throughout the semester.
CAHNRS’ Common Reading activities culminated in January with “Feeding the World: A Washington Agriculture Community Conversation,” a panel discussion featuring industry leaders addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing agriculture locally and around the globe. KWSU-TV filmed that event, which attracted nearly 400 students, faculty, staff and members of the agriculture and food communities, for its “On Campus at WSU” series. It will air on Chanel 10 at 9 p.m., Thursday, May 6, and again at 10 a.m., Sunday, May 9. Excerpts from the program are available for viewing at http://bit.ly/br8lzb.
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