Retired professor emeritus of biochemistry Robert Switzers book A Family Farm: Life on an Illinois Dairy Farm is his own familys rich history and loving devotion to the life they chose. Within the pages live four generations, from the start of the farm in 1916 to its heart-wrenching dismantlement under an auctioneers gavel in 1991. A Family Farm isnt just the journey of the Switzer farm, it is our own odyssey as a civilization, and a warning that if we do not tend to the strengths, labors and devotion that provided our foundations, we, too, could become an interesting exhibit in a quaint museum.

Readers wont just learn about the rigors of farm life, but about the people themselves as we follow the authors mother filled with dreams of a scholarly future, only to see the Great Depression snuff those dreams, and her return to the farm with her husband who performed his chores and taught in a rural schoolhouse as well. The story is an emotional rollercoaster, because thats what small farm life is.

Q. You and your brother Steve left farm life to pursue other careers, thereby unknowingly dooming your familys farm. Is this book a strand of conscience cleansing as well as the documenting of a rich history?

A. Near the end of his life, Dad coaxed Steve and me to keep the farm in the family, even though he knew that neither of us were free to operate it. It was a painful moment, but we wouldnt lie to himwe intended to sell the farm after he was gone. Economic and practical factors overrule sentiment in the passing of small family farms.

On a more personal level, I think the decision hurt Steve more than it did me. I confess that I was happy to leave the farm, and I was fortunate to be able to pursue a career in scientific research and education that I loved. Brashly, I never looked back until I was much older.

Q. What do you believe first inspired your grandparents to choose farming in northwest Illinois, especially considering they primarily utilized outdated methodology for their time?

A. They were like many rural people of the time: they stayed where they grew up and they did what they knew. Neither Grandpa nor Grandma had an education beyond the eighth grade, and they had grown up on farms. They were slow to adopt new methods and equipment because they were always cash-poor. Grandpa had an additional handicap: he suffered from narcolepsy, so he was afraid of falling asleep while operating motorized machinery.

Q. As your parents early dreams had involved scholarly pursuits, how instrumental were they to your decision to bring your academic dreams to fruition?

A. Their influence, especially the influence of my mother, can hardly be overstated. She had been an excellent student, completed a college degree with honors in 1931, and had an opportunity to pursue graduate studies in biology at Cornell, but was frustrated by the Great Depression. In some sense, I was acting out her dream in becoming a university professor. I think Dads feelings were more ambivalent; he was proud of what I accomplished, but hurt a bit by my rejection of the farm life he had chosen. In his own way Dad was something of an intellectual, though. He enjoyed discussing history, politics and literature. I recall him reciting fragments of French poetry while we were milking cows.

Q. You wisely elected to include photographs and artwork in your book. How supportive has your and your brothers families been to this project?

See the original post:
The Readers’ Writers: Author and biochemist Robert L. Switzer, PhD

(KATV, Source: UofA) Fayetteville - University of Arkansas Honors College students have led a campus-wide effort to plant a community garden that will provide fresh produce and flowers to the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry, a student-run emergency food assistance program recently honored at the White House. Two years of research and planning, along with countless hours of hands-on work with soil, compost and seedlings will culminate in the dedication of the new campus community garden at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 2.

Emily Crossfield, an honors biochemistry major in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences has led the effort to get the garden in the ground. More than 50 students from multiple disciplines have worked together to design and plant the garden, fostering connections across campus. Crossfield said for her the project is as much about the people as the plants.

"I'm meeting people I never would have met otherwise," said Crossfield, who also serves as director of sustainability for the Associated Student Government. She sees the garden as an important tool for promoting community as the campus grows.

"As a freshman in a big class you can feel lost, but if you're working with 10 other students in the garden, you're going to get to know each other pretty well," she said.

Inspired by community gardens that she saw while studying in Berlin, Crossfield decided to plant a campus community garden as the capstone project required for her minor in sustainability. Her efforts have revolved around finding a good site and building partnerships across campus. The Associated Student Government and Residents' Interhall Congress have provided substantial funding for the garden, with additional support from the department of facilities management and two registered student organizations, GroGreen and the Horticulture Club.

"Emmy has worked hard to bring a lot of people together on this, and there have been lots of ups and downs," said Curt Rom, a professor of horticulture and honors program director for the Bumpers College. "She has provided the leadership to get this garden going."

The new garden builds on research by Samantha Jones, a recent honors graduate of Bumpers College who surveyed 86 universities with community gardens and visited six of them to document best practices in her honors thesis. Her feasibility study, directed by Rom, was undertaken after an earlier garden located at the university's Agricultural Research and Extension Center proved not to be sustainable.

The location of the new garden, close to two residence halls should help ensure ongoing support.

"You need the garden to be visible, where people pass by it, notice it and can easily take care of it," Crossfield said.

The site is not without challenges. Sandwiched between two four-story wings of Maple Hill, the garden is short on sunlight in certain areas and hampered by poor soil. The students have divided the small plot into three zones based on the amount of sunlight received, planting shade-loving perennials and herbs such as basil, rosemary and sage in the back of the garden. Two truckloads of topsoil and one truckload of compost, some of it recycled from residence hall food waste, have created a rich bed for growing broccoli, peppers, squash and tomatoes. One-half of the fresh produce will go to the student volunteers, while one-half will be donated to the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry. The students will also plant day lilies, cannas, irises and hostas to donate to the food pantry and to the chancellor's office for use at university events.

See the rest here:
Honors Students Lead Effort to Plant Campus Garden

Emily McFadden, a Westhampton College junior and biochemistry major, recently received the national Beckman Scholarship for outstanding undergraduate research in the chemistry and biological sciences.

The Beckman Scholars Program , established in 1997, was designed to provide scholarships that contribute significantly in advancing the education, research training and personal development of select students in biochemistry and its relative fields, according to the programs website. The nationwide scholarship is awarded to six undergraduate students each year.

McFadden, one of the six students selected to receive the scholarship in 2012 , said the $19,200 grant would cover her research costs for the next two summers and her senior year.

The grant funds travel to symposiums and conferences across the country where I can present my research, McFadden said. It also plays for supplies in my lab.

McFaddens research, which she has been conducting for the past year and a half, takes place in a Gottwald biochemistry lab with the help of a faculty mentor.

Ive been researching a specific enzyme involved in DNA repair, McFadden said. My upcoming project is looking at an alternative enzyme, and comparing the two to see how their efficiency in DNA repair is different.

McFadden said the final culmination of her research would take place next summer, when she would present her project results at the Beckman Scholars Conference in California.

Ill have the opportunity to show my work to the members of the Beckman Foundation, as well as any other scientists who may be interested in my findings, McFadden said.

Michelle Hamm , associate professor of chemistry at the University of Richmond , serves as McFaddens mentor and nominated McFadden to receive the scholarship.

Emily is a bright and talented student with a passion for science, Hamm said. The Beckman award is for future scientific leaders, and I thought that description fit Emily well.

Link:
Westhampton junior receives national research scholarship