OSU Department of Nutritional Sciences

NSCI Strategic Plan

DEPARTMENT OF NUTRITIONAL SCIENCES

Mission

The mission of the Department of Nutritional Sciences is to promote human health and quality of life through scholarly achievements and to mentor the continuing development of professionals in the fields of nutrition, dietetics, and food.

Vision

The Department of Nutritional Sciences at Oklahoma State University will be internationally recognized and respected for scholarly achievements in higher education and research in food, nutrition, and dietetics.

Core Values

Excellence – We seek excellence in all our endeavors, and we are committed to continuous improvement.

Intellectual Freedom – We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge.

Integrity – We are committed to the principles of truth and honesty, and we will be equitable, ethical, and professional.

Service – We believe that serving others is a noble and worthy endeavor.

Diversity – We respect others and value diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, and other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Stewardship of Resources – We are dedicated to the efficient and effective use of resources. We accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and are accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal One: Create for NSCI students a collegial environment that encourages excellence, prepares for professional careers, enriches personal growth, fosters discovery of knowledge, and promotes leadership development.

Critical Success Factors:

ACT score average of incoming students is >25
Retention of NSCI students increases by 10%
Enrollment of students from diverse cultures and other underrepresented population groups increases by 10%
100% of undergraduate students participate in an internship
Courses and class experiences fulfill competency needs for all majors, including graduate students
Graduate and undergraduate students participate in research activities during their academic program
Faculty use computer technology to enhance educational practices

Improve physical infrastructure of the Nutritional Sciences Department

Objectives:

Objective 1.1: Recruit and retain outstanding undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds

Strategies

· Survey where students come from to our department.

· Survey how students were reached.

· Determine the current percentage of minorities and underrepresented groups enrolled in Nutritional Sciences.

· Development recruitment tools that target diverse students with ACT scores of 25 or higher and high school GPAs of 3.0 or higher.

· Determine current retention rate for Nutritional Sciences students.

· Conduct assessment of why students leave Nutritional Sciences programs.

· Develop practices and implement actions that address reasons for lack of retention.

· Develop an orientation for incoming undergraduate and graduate students.

· Increase the number of graduate assistantships by 100%.

Objective 1.2: Strengthen students’ educational, leadership and professional experiences to promote academic excellence.

Strategies

· Identify leadership experiences available for students.

· All undergraduate students are required to participate in an internship experience.

· Develop and define food and nutrition major competencies.

· Assess and revise graduate student competencies yearly.

· Use student assessment data to identify courses and class experiences to fill competency needs.

Objective 1.3: Enhance learning through discovery and application of knowledge.

Strategies

· Explore addition of an undergraduate research methods class.

· Require MS students to prepare one article in their thesis in manuscript form and Ph.D. students to prepare two articles.

· Require graduate students to present either at OSU Graduate Research Symposium or at a professional meeting.

Objective 1.4: Use technology to increase and strengthen educational opportunities.

Strategies

· Provide one course by distance education per semester.

· Use computer technology for all faculty to communicate with students

Objective 1.5: Strengthen physical infrastructure of the Nutritional Sciences Department.

Strategies

· Complete plans for and raise funds for renovation of offices and laboratories on the fourth floor.

· Increase departmental space by 9,000 square feet to accommodate increased research and service activities.

Goal Two: Develop an environment for NSCI faculty and staff that fosters creativity and problem solving through the discovery, dissemination and application of knowledge.

Critical Success Factors:

Fill all open faculty positions.
Increase support staff by 30%.
Increase the average number of referred publications by 10% per year.
Increase the number of PhD students that have one article accepted for publication before graduating from 5% to 40%.
Increase the number of MS and PhD students who write thesis or dissertation in journal format from 5% to 40%.

· 25% of all faculty will present in seminar one time per year in 2005.

· 50% of all faculty will present in seminar at least once per year in 2006.

· Each staff member will attend at least one professional development training per year.

Objectives:

Objective 2.1: Strengthen and develop NSCI human resources as they relate to scientific, outreach and instructional capabilities.

Strategies

· Hire one additional faculty member with expertise in dietetics/dietetics education.

· Hire one additional faculty member with expertise in food science.

· Hire laboratory technicians, instructors, undergraduate advisors and postdoctoral fellows.

· Hire a grant consultant.

· Increase availability of statistical assistance.

Objective 2.2: Increase knowledge discovery through increased publications with emphasis in core areas.

Strategies

· Establish a benchmark database on average number of publications from 1999 through 2003.

· At least one eligible faculty member will take a sabbatical leave within the next five years to increase scientific, outreach, or instructional capabilities

· Provide support for faculty to participate in two professional conferences/workshops annually to increase scientific, outreach, or instructional capabilities beginning in 2006.

Objective 2.3: Enhance staff members' professional competencies.

Strategies

· Provide support for each staff member to attend at least one professional development or professional training event per year.

· Provide more specialized and partitioned laboratory spaces.

Goal Three: Generate resources in support of Nutritional Sciences’ mission through sponsored programs, fundraising, and engagement with the broader community.

Critical Success Factors:

Rank in the top 15% of nutrition departments.
Each faculty member will have received external funding by December 2005.
Each faculty member will have at least one collaborative partnership.
Increase unrestricted funding by 25%.
Expand membership of the departmental Advisory Board by adding 5 additional members from the general public, allied health, marketing, business and industry.

Objectives:

Objective 3.1: Strengthen image and public recognition of Nutritional Sciences.

Strategies

· Determine current image and level of recognition of the department (include all programs) by December 2004. What is our image? What is our level of recognition?

· Develop a top-notch web page by December 2004.

Objective 3.2: Increase extramural support.

Strategies

· Establish a database identifying sources of extramural support for research and instruction by December 2004.

· Increase the number of proposals submitted to at least two per year per faculty.

· Identify potential collaborative groups by December 2004.

· Establish funds for at least two post doctorates by December 2005.

· Establish funds for at least two fully funded PhD students for the full program of study (4 years at least) by December 2005.

Objective 3.3: Increase NSCI private support through development.

Strategies

· Continue with targeted fund raising campaigns from 2004 to 2009.

· Raise Ebro’s scholarship to endowment level by June 2006.

· Raise Winterfeldt’s Trust fund to $100,000 by June of 2006.

· Identify and establish relationships with foundations and agencies that fund research by December 2005.

· Increase unrestricted funding 25% by December 2005.

Objective 3.4: Continue to strengthen NSCI alumni friends, and advisory group involvement.

Strategies

· Pilot e-newsletter by June 2005.

· 50% of the faculty will attend each graduation and participate in alumni activities, by December 2004.

· Expand membership of the departmental Advisory Board (for example, public member, allied health, marketing, business, and industry) based on current representation.

· Have a meet and greet session for students with alumni and advisory board starting Fall 2004.

Goal Four: Strengthen community engagement for the enhancement of human & economic impact.

Critical Success Factors:

Two partnerships formed with agencies/organizations/industry.
Two projects initiated with partnered agency, organization, and industry partners.
Four educational programs offered for targeted workforce audiences by December 2005.
Ten percent of the Oklahoma population will be reached with OCES/FCS/Food, Nutrition, and Health (FNH) educational programming.
Thirty percent of participants in FNH programs will improve one or more health behaviors.

Objectives:

Objective 4.1: Increase partnerships/collaborations to improve human health and quality of life.

Strategies

· Conduct a needs assessment and identify potential partners/collaborators to improve human health and quality of life by December 2004.

· Develop partnerships/collaborations and initiate projects of common interests by December 2005.

Objective 4.2: Increase partnerships for economic development.

Strategies

· Identify areas that have potential for economic development.

· Seek partners/collaborators to initiate projects of common interests by December 2005.

· Identify opportunities for technology transfer by June 2006.

Objective 4.3: Increase workforce development opportunities for targeted groups.

Strategies

· By September 2004, identify how many and what kinds of educational programs are offered by Nutritional Sciences for community volunteers, stakeholders, the general public, alumni, dietetic professionals or allied health professionals through: a) internet and distance education, b) workshops, c) conferences.

· By December 2005, offer at least four educational programs for targeted audiences utilizing: a) Internet and distance education, b) Workshops, c) Conferences.

Objective 4.4: Develop, implement and evaluate OCES/FCS/FNH programs for Oklahoma youth and adults.

Strategies

· Identify critical youth and adult FNH issues in Oklahoma.

· Develop and implement FNH youth and adult impact programs to address critical FNH issues.

· Develop and implement evaluation instruments with OCES/FCS/FNH impact programs to measure positive improvements in FNH behaviors.

· Measure the number of people reached through programming.