Meeting & Agendas

Good Afternoon: I wanted to take a few moments to write to you and share some updates from the Culinary Arts Department since the last Advisory Board meeting. I would also welcome your feedback and thoughts, as these are vital to our growth.

We have two new department chair officials as of January 2011; Chef Sandi Pepper is now the Department Chair and Chef Brian McCormick is Assistant Department Chair. Chef Pepper is managing all faculty members and serving as budget authority. Chef McCormick is handling all student advising, hourly employees, and event planning.

We are currently using our new standard of grading system that went into effect Fall of 2010. The Grade of a “D” or lower is no longer considered an acceptable grade. The student will still receive credit for the class, but the culinary department does not consider the student to have achieved an adequate number of competencies in the class to move forward. Therefore, the student will have to repeat the class in order to receive a higher grade and cannot move forward in the program until this occurs. Our Pastry Program has grown prosperously this school year. In the Spring 2011 semester we were able to offer a Breads and Rolls class and Bakery Operations and Management class to our pastry students. A Cake Baking and Production class has already added to our Fall 2011 schedule and we are working diligently to offer more pastry classes in the future, such as a Chocolate and Confectionery class. We are also planning on expanding the Pastry program to offer an Associates of Science in the future. We are offering two new classes in Summer 2011. Catering and a Special Topics class called Sustainable Foods, which is being taught in conjunction with Urban Roots. Urban Roots is a program that uses sustainable agriculture as a means to develop youth and increase the accessibility of healthy food in Austin. Our Culinary department and biology department are working side by side in creating a garden outside of Building 3000. Plans are for perennial edible plants, herbs, and fruit and nut trees. This concept is meant to educate and show all students how a sustainable garden works. Flag markers have already been placed out for the irrigation system.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to meeting with all of you soon. Once again, any feedback is greatly appreciated.