History of IFTSA

Foundation

Within IFT prior to 1972, there were few opportunities for student involvement and no programs tailored towards the interests and needs of student food scientists. Food Science clubs had been strong at many colleges and universities for years, yet no national structure was in place to share ideas and develop greater opportunities. The student members of IFT gathered in a log cabin at Rutgers University in April of 1972 to discuss strategies towards improving the voice and contributions of students within the Institute. At the Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, a petition was drafted for the formation of a Student Division to achieve those goals. By April of 1973, the first Student Division newsletter was published and other programs had been initiated. By the time IFT granted an official charter to the Division in 1975 momentum was already very strong, and the future success of a national organization for food science students seemed very exciting. Yet, the student division was not to proceed without some growing pains.

Reorganization

There were several factors that contributed to the conversion of the old Student Division to the current Student Association. First, not all student members of IFT were Student Division members. Division membership is elective, not automatic, and most students did not realize this. Consequently, Student Division membership remained low. As a consequence of low membership, it was difficult to fill all officer and committee positions and to maintain continuity from year to year. In addition, the Student Division had no income beyond the limited division dues, so members had to submit individual requests for each new project to IFT and industry. The Division was borrowing more than $100,000 a year to present its programs! Lastly, The IFT Committee on Membership and Professional Affairs (COMPA), rather than the Committee on Divisions, was responsible for the oversight of the Division, and this led to conflicting policies. In 1982 the IFT Executive Committee established the first and only Association within the Institute, a unique structure that remains in place today. Student members of IFT are now automatically members of the Student Association, and IFTSA retains autonomy over its finances and policies. In 1992, IFT allowed for the first time a student representative, Scott Lineback, to serve on the Executive Committee of the Institute. This new position gave students the ultimate voice they needed to grow the IFTSA into what it is today.

Updating Our Image

The IFTSA logo has undergone two changes since its creation in 1972. The challis design was amended in the1980s to include the cartoon figure Freddy Food Science. This character was retired at the time that IFT Director of Field Services Pam Pierson assumed the position from George Foster. Following a period of using the original logo without the letters "SA", a new logo design was commissioned in 1996 by the IFTSA Executive Committee. A design by Cynthia Gresham of Houston, TX was approved that same year. The new logo has been in use since, to keep pace with the computer and printing technology of today as well as with the high profile status of the Association.

The first IFTSA newsletter was prepared on a typewriter. Since, radical changes in design, layout, and content have resulted in one of the most attractive and readable news letters within IFT. Thanks goes to the creative minds of our Newsletter editors over the years.

The IFT website made its debut under the guidance of Past Chair Jonathan Merkle in 1994. It was hosted by the University of Minnesota for several years and maintained solely by Mr. Merkle for those first few years. The position of web editor was officially created in 1996 to formalize the process of webpage design and maintenance and move the responsibility away from the graduating Dr. Merkle. Since that time, the site has been moved to the IFT server, greatly expanded and redesigned to meet the communications goals of the Association.

Past Competitions

The period immediately following the Purdue meeting in 1972, at which by-laws for the first IFT Student Divisionwere drafted, saw a tremendous amount of activity and organization by the eager new student leaders. Much of the activity of today's Student Association is centered upon our five competitions, held nationally each year. It all started in 1974 with the Undergraduate Research Paper Forum at the IFT Annual Meeting in New Orleans. This competition eventually developed into today's Undergraduate Research Paper Competition, spotlighting and rewarding student research. In 1975, under the leadership of Chairman Bill Edmunds, The Chapter of The Year Award was developed to help build stronger and more active chapters of the Division. The first award went to the University of Georgia, and awards for the top three finishers have been presented at every Annual Meeting since. The following year saw the first Graduate Research Paper Competition, which encourages excellence in scientific research and presentation.

In 1985 after reorganization of the Division, the new IFT Student Association looked to extend its role in facilitating interaction among universities and enhancing food science education for its members. The inaugural intercollegiate Food Technology College Bowl was held in Atlanta and has grown into the most highly attended competition at the Annual Meeting every year. Although questions have become more sophisticated, the rules of play have stayed the same these past 15 years. In 1985, the team of Maureen Hermes, David Baldwin, Michael Kramer, Donald Burge, and Tom Davis from the North Atlantic Area took the first title. The last of the five competitions was introduced in 1991 thanks to the support of M&M-Mars. The Product Development Competition allows students to take all of the skills and knowledge learned in school and apply them to a real-world situation, encouraging team-building and leadership along the way. The competition reached maturity in 1996 when Dateline NBC aired a feature story following the Cornell University through the development process on the way to their victory at the Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The competition today attracts attention from throughout the food industry and the scope of the development process and the professionalism in the final products is more than the founders could have imagined.