The Auburn University Board of Trustees will hold its first meeting of the year Friday, Feb. 1, and among the items to be discussed are possible graduate degree programs in brewing science and turfgrass management.
According to board materials released by the university, the graduate certificate in brewing sciences comes from the College of Human Science and was initiated in order to provide graduate-level coursework for students and professionals interested in learning about brewing, including malting, mashing, brewing and fermentation.
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In an interview with AU’s “Take 5” series last year, Martin O’Neill, head of the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Hospitality Management, said the proposal relates to the growing interest in home and craft brewing and, if approved, would tap into an important niche market in education.
“This program speaks to a number of the university’s current strategic priorities including revenue generation, distance education and inter-departmental collaboration,” Martin said.
As it currently stands, the certificate would take up 18 credit hours. Although O’Neill would not release any more details on the proposal until it passes, he said that it would likely start in 2014.
The proposed master in turfgrass management would be offered through the College of Agriculture. Beth Guertal, professor of turfgrass management, said the course would be Web-based, would be comprised of 32 credit hours and would likely benefit those already involved in the field, whether it be groundskeepers or agronomists wanting to learn more about how to better keep land clean and green.
“There’s a very strong interest at Auburn University in distance education, so you look at who are your clientele that would take advantage of distance education, and it’s people who are already working, they’re doing the job they want, but they want some additional education,” Guertal said.
Guertal said many of her own undergraduate students who leave the university with a specialty in turfgrass management end up working as golf course superintendents and field managers for organizations as varied as the Boston Red Sox, Denver Broncos and Texas Rangers. If passed, the course would likely be added in the fall.
Remaining proposed certificates to be brought up are from Auburn University in Montgomery and include a bachelor of science degree in computer science, a master’s degree in teaching of writing and graduate certificate in the teaching of writing.- Drew Taylor | Opelika-Auburn News oanow.com