At the same time we were writing about Trevor Suslow’s work at UC Davis, and the new research funded by the Center for Produce Safety, which is hosted by UC Davis, we received a note from Jim Gorny, Executive Director of the Postharvest Technology Research and Information Center at UC Davis, and we accepted an invitation to serve on the faculty of a Marketing Short Course extended by Roberta Cook, UC Cooperative Extension Specialist and lecturer at UC Davis.
It all made us think about what an incredible resource UC Davis is for the industry and then we realized that UC Davis is not alone. Cornell University, Michigan State, Cal Poly, University of Florida… there are so many great universities offering so many great programs, the resources are astounding.
In fact because most of the programs are geared toward one state or another and because they often have little money for marketing and lack the sponsorship of a national trade association, many astounding programs sort of live in the shadows.
That is a shame, but, fortunately, we here at the Pundit can actually do something about this. So consider the four articles above to be the initiation of an occasional series on the great universities that work with the industry. Our goal is to highlight some of the intellectual firepower available to be accessed, some of the programs that are upcoming and can be participated in, and some of the important work being done behind the scenes at each institution.
For this first “University Resource Highlight” column on UC Davis, we included four separate pieces:
Understanding GAPs in which Trevor Suslow, Extension Research Specialist at UC Davis, helps us better understand the problems and potential inherent in GAP.
Center For Produce Safety Funds Industry Studies in which we discuss the exciting news that research funding is now flowing out of the Center for Produce Safety at UC Davis and suggest a vision for future research investments.
UC Davis Produce CurriculumIs Open To The Industry; reveals, via a note from Jim Gorny, some of the easy-to-access programs UC Davis offers the industry.
Short Course On Produce Marketing Offered At UC Davis in which we discuss the UC Davis Marketing Short Course headed by Roberta Cook, one of the true academic superstars in the industry and a program in which the Pundit will be participating.
With the economy slowing, now may be the perfect time for individuals in the trade to enhance their skills. Our great universities — an irreplaceable national resource — stand ready to help.
With stock markets crashing, real estate being foreclosed upon, commodities and bonds dropping… it feels as if everything may be lost.
Let me share with you a prototypical Jewish attitude, one shaped by millennia of often being exiled and losing everything:
You can lose your job, lose your house, have belongings repossessed, your investments can become worthless, your gold and diamonds ripped from your body. However, no matter what the world takes from you, the one thing the world can never take from you is the intellectual capital you carry in your head.
That is why enhancing one’s knowledge and understanding is the very best investment one can possibly make.
In depressing times, undertaking education is also a profoundly optimistic and life-affirming act. It says that better days will come and I will be ready.
We hope this Pundit can serve a small role in making it so.
