Committed to the College

Bill McCloskey, ’84, ’87g, is tied to agriculture and to the College that prepared him for a successful career. He and his wife Linda own a 140-acre farm in Breckinridge County. He worked for Dairymen Inc. in Louisville and on his family’s dairy farm and, currently, is director of Financial Services for the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy. After he graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics, he joined the UK Ag and HES Alumni Association to stay connected to his teachers and classmates.

Throughout the years, McCloskey has remained active in the alumni association, proud to be part of the group that developed the scholarship endowment for the Lincoln Trail Alumni Chapter and eventually becoming that chapter’s president. Now, in his first year of a two-year term as president of the association, he said he is excited about the opportunity.

“As president, I pledge my commitment to continue the work of the Ag and HES Alumni Association—to increase awareness of UK College of Agriculture programs, to provide opportunities for networking and fellowship, to fund scholarships, assist with student recruitment, and most importantly, provide a connection between alumni and the College.”

 

 

 

Perfecting the Brownie
(and other adventures in microbiology)

■ Mary L. Sandford, ’69, ’74g, a food safety and public health regulatory compliance expert, may not have had well-defined career goals while at the University of Kentucky, but after graduation from the College of Agriculture, doors opened in research and industry food microbiology laboratories. Those doors led to a series of management positions in technical services, quality assurance, consumer product safety, food safety, and regulatory compliance, during a 35-year career in the food industry, 33 with Burger King Corp.

During her tenure, Sandford has seen advances including the development of novel food products; improvements in Good Manufacturing Practices, Good Agricultural Practices and food processing and manufacturing equipment; and increased training and regulatory requirements that keep pace with an expanding global food economy.

Food security and food defense are emerging career paths, and food microbiology is at the forefront of advances in food safety.

“Emerging science, technology, and the overall significance of a career that is very relevant to society is still exciting,” Sandford said.

 

■ Lois Ehlers, ’75, ’77g, a UK nutrition and food science alumna, sees her work at Givaudan Flavors Corp., the world’s largest flavor company, as the blending of art and science. During her career, the complexity of the food industry has increased dramatically. End products are increasingly sophisticated, requiring great taste and reduced amounts of sugar, salt, or fat. Currently, as a sales account manager with an eye-popping 2.5 million frequent flyer miles, she meets with internal teams and external clients in the quest to create winning products.

“UK provided academic skills, but even more importantly, helped prepare me for life,” Ehlers said.

As a student, she focused on product development, well prepared to continue in the field at General Mills and then Pillsbury. One of her first commercial efforts: perfecting a brownie that compensated for the vagaries of the home baker.

 

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Mazagan, a luxury five-star beach resort in El Jadida, Morocco. Miranda Estes worked on this project, which was completed in 2009.

Along the Environmental Seam

Husband and wife Bill and Miranda Estes do spend time in the office, coordinating the large-scale projects they design as landscape architects for international design firm EDSA, but they also often travel to the project site. Over the past six years, Bill Estes, ’99, has worked in 20 countries and territories, managing the design of cities, communities, intimate garden spaces and five-star resorts.

There has been increased awareness of the effects of man-made intervention on the environment. According to Bill, landscape architects have always had this understanding.

“It is a profession that works along the seam of the built and natural environments,” he said. “It’s a testament to the growing awareness globally of the role landscape architects play in creating livable environments and communities.”

Bill knew he wanted to work on large-scale, big budget projects.

In contrast, Miranda, ’02, first sought a small-scale, hands-on design job after graduating from the College with her bachelors degree in landscape architecture. “I was interested in the relationship between inside and outside,” she said.

“EDSA was a complete departure,” Miranda said. “I was immediately thrown into large resort design projects, something that I had never imagined doing. Suddenly, I was working on projects for big-name clients such as Ritz Carlton and Kerzner International. I had never even stayed at a five-star resort before, and now I was designing them.”

Each points to different career highlights: for Bill, the six months in 2010 working in the EDSA/Orient office in Beijing; for Miranda, a hotel project in Morocco, south of Casablanca, where a one-week, five-city whirlwind tour got them up to speed on local materials, which saved costs and added authenticity. But they agree that it has been their good fortune to learn about different cultures and then translate that into designs specific to the region, whether Mexico or Montenegro, Spain or South Africa.

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HALL OF FAME

Our alumni and faculty are sources of pride for the College of Agriculture. They are the visionaries and the roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done supporters of community, farm, and home. In 2010, we honored six remarkable individuals for their lifetime achievements and their contributions to the University and beyond.

 

Human Environmental Sciences Hall of Fame

Left to right: Opal Hurley Mann Green, Betty Jane Downer Eastin, Anna Bernice Lucas, Raymond E. Forgue, Kathy Allen Jansen.

Betty Jane Downer Eastin, who was inducted posthumously, is probably best remembered for establishing the school’s Betty D. Eastin Historical Costume Collection. She wanted the collection to illustrate the importance of textiles and design in the growth and development of the state. She also was instrumental in establishing the UK Department of Clothing, Textiles, and Merchandising in the late 1960s and early 1970s in what was then the College of Home Economics, chairing the department from 1971 to 1973.

Raymond E. Forgue served on the faculty of the Department of Family Studies for 28 years beginning in 1980, holding the positions of director of graduate studies and department chair within that time span. He and his students managed the Consumer Protection Hotline, which connected Kentucky residents with the state attorney general’s office. Though now retired from UK, Forgue continues to serve, as treasurer of the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation and on the board of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

Opal Hurley Mann Green, inducted posthumously, graduated from UK in 1944. She had a life-long career in Cooperative Extension, becoming the first woman to serve as county coordinator in 1958. She became the deputy assistant administrator to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Home Economics and Human Nutrition Extension Service in 1971, providing leadership for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. With her assistance and support, the Extension Homemakers grew to become the largest volunteer educational and community service organization in the United States.

Anna Bernice Lucas has spent her life in 4-H. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in home economics from UK, she took a job as Grant County’s home economics agent, also overseeing the county’s 4-H program. Lucas left the state in 1967 to become a county agent in Tennessee and received her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee, where she served as an assistant professor on that school’s 4-H staff. She returned to Kentucky in 1976 as a state extension specialist focusing on curriculum management in 4-H. Now retired, Lucas volunteers with the Lincoln County 4-H program and the Kentucky 4-H office.

Kathy Allen Jansen has a passion for teaching and textiles. With a bachelor’s degree in vocational home economics from UK and a master’s and doctorate in textile science from the University of Wisconsin, she has taught at home and abroad, holding faculty positions at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, University of the Philippines, Howard University, and the International School of Islamabad. Jansen retired after nearly 30 years in teaching and now works as a national and international education consultant and senior project manager. Wherever she’s lived, Jansen has always been active in community service and has received many awards for her volunteer work.

 

Animal & Food Sciences Hall of Fame

Dennis O. Liptrap received his bachelor’s degree in animal science from UK and his doctorate in animal nutrition from Michigan State University. Returning to the UK College of Agriculture as an assistant professor and swine specialist, he began a long tenure of service to the commonwealth. During his career in UK Cooperative Extension, Liptrap developed visionary programs. He consulted with many producers to interpret research results and tailor recommendations to the unique situations they encountered. Currently, he works as a nutritionist and technical consultant for Ralco Nutrition. Liptrap was named a Fellow of the American Society of Animal Science and inducted into the Kentucky Pork Producers Hall of Fame in 2002.

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2011 Board of Directors
Ag & HES Alumni Association

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Area Presidents

Bluegrass—Charlie Edgington, Lexington
Fort Harrod—Brian Osterman, Danville
Green River—Daniel Smith, Henderson
Lake Cumberland—Sue Stivers, Columbia
Licking River—Randy Meadows, Wallingford
Lincoln Trail—Christi Marksbury, Bardstown
Louisville—Beth Floyd, Louisville
Mammoth Cave—Joe Duncan, Rockfield
Northeast—Heather Kirk, Flatwoods
Northern Kentucky—Carl “Jay” Hellmann Jr., Independence
Pennyrile—Saralyn Hite, Gracey
Purchase—Liz Herndon, Hickory
Quicksand—Tom Cravens, Hazard
Wilderness Trail—Pending

Faculty Directors

Teaching—Dr. Martha Nall, Lexington
Research—Pending
Extension—Dr. William Snell, Paris

Student Directors

Student Council President—Caroline Peterson, Lexington
Ag Student at-Large—Cody Jenkins, Greenville
HES Student at-Large—Olivia Huprich, Granville, Ohio

Executive Board

President— Bill McCloskey, Bardstown
Vice President—Diana Doggett, Lexington
Secretary—Amelia Brown, Lexington
Treasurer—Susie Tanner, Georgetown
Past President—Michelle McDonald, Carlisle
HES Representative—Myrna Wesley, Lexington
At-Large Representatives— Audrey Carr, Georgetown; Whitney Stith, Union