USU's Janet Anderson Slated as Fall Commencement Speaker

Utah State University has selected one of its most well-loved and highly honored teachers as commencement speaker for the fall commencement ceremony Dec. 16.

Janet Anderson, an associate clinical professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences in the College of Agriculture, is the featured speaker at the graduation ceremony. She will address both undergraduate and graduate students at the joint ceremony.

 

“Janet is admired by students and faculty alike from all across campus,” said Sydney Peterson, chair of the university commencement committee. “Her students consistently rank her among their favorites, and that shows in her numerous teaching awards. She is deeply passionate about her role as a mentor to students, and she knows all too well what they’ve been through. She knows their pains, and now she will help them know the triumphs of all this work.”

 

During her 16 years at Utah State University, Anderson has taught a variety of courses covering basic nutrition, lifecycle nutrition, quantity foods production and food service management.

She recently received the 2006 Excellence in Teaching Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This extremely prestigious national award recognizes faculty who stand out among their peers, bring distinction to their school and credit to their profession.

 

She is a proven master teacher who employs a wide variety of pedagogy to maximize students’ learning. She is especially known for making use of examples to teach concepts, for developing hands-on learning exercises and for integrating service learning projects into the curriculum.

Anderson is nationally recognized for her teaching modules on food safety targeted to the general public, especially school-age children. Her consumer food safety studies have made significant contributions to knowledge in the field and have been published in the leading journals. These same studies have stimulated learning around the world as evidence by her numerous interviews on local, national and international radio and TV, and articles in the popular press.

 

Anderson was selected from among a list of outstanding professors on campus, according to Peterson. She said the president wanted the fall commencement to have a different flavor than the spring graduation ceremony, so the commencement committee looked within the institution for a person who could capture the essence of students’ experiences and who also could send them forth with a message of merit.