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Discovery Newsletter
December 2014 
Looking Forward to The Annual Retired Faculty Lunch

Decor at luncheon On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, retired faculty of the School and Experiment Station/RCE will gather in the main dining room of the University Inn and Conference Center for one of the favorite traditions of the year: the annual Retired Faculty Luncheon, hosted by Executive Dean Bob Goodman. The festivities start at 11:30 a.m. The event is open to current faculty and staff and alumni. Be sure to be there... and to register before November 25, 2014.
Kids: Cooking, Learning, and Eating

Chef Bill Yosses
Chef Bill Yosses
Rutgers Alumnus Bill Yosses, the former White House executive pastry chef, is coming on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 to Trayes Hall in the Douglass Student Center from 6 to 9 p.m. for a hands-on evening for children and families that will help teach children about food and cooking, with a blend of science and fun. Bill will be joined by Sally Sampson, founder and president of Chop Chop Kids, a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire and teach children to cook real food with their families.

The evening is especially geared to children ages 7 to 10, who will learn the fundamentals of cooking and help prepare food to eat and share with others. Alumni with children who would like to participate may contact Associate Dean for Development Kelly Watts at 848-932-3576. Read more.

George Hammel Cook: A True Rutgers Hero  

"In the early 1860s Rutgers College was in the doldrums," writes biographer Jean G.H. Cook Portrait Wilson Sidar. "An ailing and aging president, apathetic alumni, and a lack of support ... made the college an unlikely place for a dynamic change of direction and growth." Due to the Civil War, the entire institution was reduced in size from 164 students in 1861 to 64 in 1864. For George Hammell Cook, perhaps the college's most prominent and industrious faculty member, "the situation was one of great concern," Sidar writes with great understatement.

However, the scene was set for a remarkable reinvigoration of Rutgers, led by Cook and colleague David Murray as they secured for Rutgers the designation as New Jersey's land-grant institution. The story of how this came about and the indefatigable commitment of Cook was the subject of a 150th anniversary celebration at the Executive Dean's Distinguished Lecture a few weeks ago, presented with scores of historic illustrations by Thomas Frusciano, University archivist. The video is available for viewing on the Discovery website. See how Cook "brought new vitality and a new commitment to the college." View the video.
Celebrating 100 Years of
Agricultural and Resource Economics

DAFRE Anniversary Logo Exactly 50 years after securing New Jersey's land-grant designation, the forerunner to the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics was founded. One of its first impacts on the agricultural community in New Jersey was to help farmers cope with the newly-instituted federal personal income tax. As Department Chair Paul Gottlieb described it, "Without good records on their costs of production, farmers couldn't calculate their income, and they might wind up paying too much. The first Rutgers economists helped farmers with this new bookkeeping problem."

Alumni, current and former faculty, staff and guests of the department attended a celebration in November, including a panel discussion of "Agricultural and Resource Economics in the 21st Century," followed by a dinner and networking. Read more and visit the photo gallery.

Upcoming Events

December 2, 2014
- Retired Faculty Luncheon, University Inn and Conference Center
          (see above and register)

December 3, 2014 - Kids: Cooking, Learning, and Eating, Douglass Student Center
          (see above)

December 23, 2014 - Winter Recess Begins

March  3, 2015 - Save the Date: Big 10 Ag Alumni Reception in Washington, DC
                            (details in the January/February Discovery Newsletter)
Quick Links

This Newsletter is brought to you by the Office of Alumni and Community Engagement, a unit of the Office of the Executive Dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station. New events and programs are posted frequently on our Discovery website at  www.discovery.rutgers.edu. Contact the Office of Alumni and Community Engagement at 848-932-4215 or discovery@aesop.rutgers.edu.

Diana M. Orban Brown, Director

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