Above is aview of newly renovated
Culinology® dining room. Alumni
might recall seeing the early HRA
Dining Room in this space, and post-
fire students would remember it as the
location of the temporary Snack Bar.
The SMSU Culinology® Program
stays busy in their new kitchens and
beyond. Inset photos: (clockwise from
top left) students participated in the
catering effort for Avera Cancer
Institute “Building for Hope” Gala; all
hands are needed to prep for the
SMSU Dinner Theatre meal; a
student working hands-on in the lab;
the array of stainless steel and silicone
utensils at the ready; students serving
at the University Gala in the Mission
District of San Francisco station; and a
tray of seasoned meats await their turn
in the ovens.
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3FOCUS
The Culinology® kitchens at SMSU underwent a complete
makeover during the summer of 2010. Today, they rival anything in
the country.
“The students love it; I love it,” said Culinology® Director
Michael Cheng. “It has brought the program into the 21st century,
and beyond. We now have facilities that no one else has.”
The renovation work resulted in a total of five kitchens. One, the
Ecolab Skills Kitchen, was named after Ecolab, the St. Paul-based
company that is a world leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety
and infection control products and services.
The company presented the Culinology® program a $100,000 gift
to help with the renovation project. SMSU alumna Kris Taylor
(1987), the Vice President of Community Relations and Ecolab
Foundation, helped facilitate the gift. She is a past chairperson of
the Culinology® Advisory Board, and sits on the board today.
“The Ecolab kitchen is where every student begins his or her
Culinology® training. It’s where they learn the basics,” said Cheng.
Other kitchens include the baking and demonstration kitchen,
where hands-on demonstrations of skills occur and where guest
chefs work; the restaurant kitchen, which supports the green Bistro
restaurant; and the Culinology® kitchen, used primarily as a research
and development kitchen.
Culinology® students have many hands-on opportunities
throughout the year. Cheng and 25 students from his Menu Design
and Service Management class helped with the Avera Cancer
Institute’s Building Hope Gala in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Oct. 23.
The SMSU contingent helped cater the event for 3,000 guests
and keynote speaker Lance Armstrong. “It was quite a challenge and
a wonderful opportunity,” said Cheng. “We’ve done small-scale
events in the
past, 15 people
up to 300 at the
U n i v e r s i t y
Gala, so this
was an
experience we
don’t get every
day. I was very
proud of
them.”
S M S U
students helped
prep, cook and
serve the food,
and helped
clean up
afterward.
Culinology®
has grown in
popularity as a major since being introduced in fall semester 2006.
“We primarily get our students from Minnesota and surrounding
states, though we do have students from the East (coast),” said
Cheng. “We have been getting more and more from Illinois. I
think our presence each year at the National Restaurant Association
show in Chicago has helped that.”
The renovations mean that the state-of-the-art program now has
state-of-the-art facilities to support the educational goals of the
students.
Culinology® Program Goes State-of-the-Art
Students (and alumni) from across the country can now take a
tour of SMSU no matter there they live.
SMSU has partnered with YourCampus360 to create the tour.
YourCampus360 is a New York-based company that uses the latest
technology to present virtual walking tours of campuses on websites,
as well as utilizing popular social media and mobile devices.
The virtual tour is accessible on the SMSU website:
www.SMSU.edu. It includes academic buildings, the Student
Center/Conference Center, athletic facilities, residence halls and
other areas. Each stop along the tour includes photographs and 360-
degree views. There are even some videos.
In fall, a YourCampus360 photographer captured images of more
than 45 areas on campus. With the use of a wide-angle lens and
by ‘stitching’ photos, virtual images showing the 360-degree views
of much of the campus were created.
The virtual tour allow prospective students from anywhere in the
world to get a feel of the SMSU campus, its facilities and spirit. The
content of SMSU’s tour can be easily updated, so as the campus
grows and changes, so will the tour.
The tour guide is Elise Kazmerzak, a sophomore from Lake
Preston, S.D. Her avatar-like features are shown during the tour as
she gives the viewer a description at each tour stop.
The tour is available via Facebook and mobile devices such as the
Android and the iPad. Students at home or on the go have access
to SMSU wherever they have access to the internet.
“Students today begin their college search on the internet. Giving
students access to SMSU through this virtual tour lets them see the
university without taking time out of their schedules to come to the
campus itself. The YourCampus360 tour also answers many of the
basic questions that both students and parents have about college,”
said Andrew Hlubek, SMSU Director of Admissions.
“We think this is a unique addition to our website, as we are
attracting more students from longer distances, and this will
encourage them to come to campus for a personal visit,” he said.
Virtual Tour of Campus Now Online