Renowned says her passions are cooking and nutrition, and the way she shares her fondness for cooking and nutrition is through teaching.

In late October, students from the in the were able to witness Gadia鈥檚 enthusiasm firsthand and benefit from her teaching lessons as she was the featured speaker for the Joan Christy Lecture Series on Food and Culture.

The lecture series is made possible by the Christy Food and Culture Fund, which was established in 2005 through the generosity of 性视界 University nutrition alumna Joan Christy 鈥�78, G鈥�81 to provide support for a lecture series in the nutrition program. The annual event involves a discussion of the cultural foodways and a demonstration and tasting of select dishes from the cultural cuisine.

鈥淭hese lecture series give students the opportunity to learn more outside the classroom and get exposed to new cultures and cuisines,鈥� says nutrition science master鈥檚 student Kirsten Gunderson ’23. 鈥淚 try to attend at least one lecture a semester through the nutrition department鈥檚 different lecture series because it allows me to gain a deeper insight on the many paths nutrition can take us. With Chef Gadia鈥檚 knowledge, students had the opportunity to learn how cooking can be joyous, healthy and nurturing.鈥�

Gadia, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes educator, is known for her homestyle, healthy and authentic Indian cooking. The author of two popular books, 鈥溾�� and 鈥�,鈥� Gadia has more than 25 years of experience as a nutrition counselor, diabetes educator, writer and speaker. Her areas of expertise include healthy eating, weight loss, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health/nutrition-related topics.

Before becoming a best-selling author, Gadia worked as a clinical dietician and diabetes educator. That led to invitations to conduct cooking classes in her hometown of Ames, Iowa, and as she started to accumulate recipes, she decided to write her first book, which eventually was purchased and distributed by the Penguin Publishing Group.

鈥淒uring the first few years (after the success of 鈥業ndian Home Cooking鈥�), I did a lot of cooking demos around the country,鈥� Gadia says. 鈥淚鈥檝e done them for chefs, communities and cooking schools, and then I wrote 鈥楾he Indian Vegan Kitchen鈥� and that led to more cooking demos and sharing my passion through teaching.鈥�

Gadia spent several hours in the morning of her day in 性视界 with students from Teaching Professor and Chef 鈥檚 Food Service Operations class. During the class, the students created an Indian menu of basmati rice, chickpea curry, spicy new potatoes and Cream of Wheat halwa for dessert.

鈥淒uring prep, I admired her meticulous approach to layering flavors; she emphasized that spices should not blend too early and provided specific instructions on when to add each one to enhance the aroma,鈥� says nutrition major Daphnee Chu ’27, who oversaw the preparation of the chickpea curry. 鈥淚 enjoyed discussing Indian cuisine with her, particularly the distinctions between North and South Indian dishes, which I find intriguing.鈥�

Chu says learning from Gadia was a 鈥渇ascinating experience,鈥� and Gadia says she is always excited to impart her knowledge on a younger generation.

鈥淭he most important thing is that the teacher (Kiernan) is giving them exposure to other cuisines and expanding their repertoire and interests,鈥� Gadia says. 鈥淢aybe 10 years down the road they鈥檒l say, 鈥楾he first time I had Indian cuisine was when this teacher came in and told us how it all works.鈥欌��

In the evening, Falk College students, faculty and staff packed Room 204 for Gadia鈥檚 demonstration, where she explained in detail how she cooked each of the dishes that the students helped make in the morning.

鈥淗aving tasted authentic Indian food before, I noticed that some of the spices Chef Gadia used were different from what I was accustomed to, despite both being labeled as 鈥榗hickpea curry,鈥欌�� Chu says. 鈥淒uring her lecture, she explained how 鈥榮piced鈥� Indian cuisine is, mentioning that 95 percent of Indian households don鈥檛 use curry powder.

鈥淭his insight surprised me, as I had never considered it before, and it made me realize that I had never encountered two Indian dishes that tasted exactly the same,鈥� Chu adds. 鈥淭his experience deepened my understanding of Indian food culture, and I鈥檓 grateful to Falk for the chance to work closely with Chef Gadia.鈥�

As Gadia described her preparation and cooking methods during the demonstration, she emphasized that Indian foods are relatively easy to make, and they don鈥檛 have to be spicy. At the end of the demonstration, all attendees enjoyed samples of the food that Gadia and the students had prepared in the morning.

鈥淢y cooking mantra would be Indian cuisine is simple and easy, and people think it鈥檚 so complicated,鈥� Gadia says. 鈥淚 disagree with that, and my job is to show them how it鈥檚 simple and easy.鈥�

Gadia says her nutrition mantra is that all foods, even some of the ones we consider unhealthy, can fit into a healthy diet. Gunderson says she appreciated the opportunity to spend time with a well-known chef and dietician who is equally focused on cooking and nutrition.

鈥淏etween her expertise in Indian cuisine and my novice understanding of it, I was able to take away so much,鈥� Gunderson says. 鈥淗er comforting nature in the kitchen and the joy she got from cooking was evident throughout her presentation.

鈥淚 had not had a prior experience learning about Indian cuisine, but I was most interested in learning about the different spices and how they truly add to a dish,鈥� Gunderson says. 鈥淕etting the opportunity to smell and try some spices that I never had before was exciting.鈥�

Please visit the webpage to learn more about academic programs, facilities and career opportunities.

The rise of women鈥檚 sports has sparked a significant cultural shift in the last year, inspiring countless athletes and breaking barriers across the globe as national viewership numbers and stadium attendance for women鈥檚 sporting events have seen a dramatic rise.

性视界 University is proud to celebrate this through the first-ever Bisignano Speaker Series, “Tenacity and Triumph: Leadership Lessons and Resiliency.” The event will be held on Friday, Sept. 27 from 10-11:30 a.m. in the K.G. Tan Auditorium in the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D鈥橝niello Building and is open to all.

Featuring two powerhouse figures in sports, this event brings together 性视界 women鈥檚 basketball head coach and Mallory Weggemann, a four-time Paralympic gold medalist, world record holder, passionate advocate and NBC Sports reporter and in-studio correspondent.

Weggemann, known for her determination in and out of the pool, will share how she overcame obstacles and achieved greatness as a Paralympic athlete. She was both a gold and silver medalist for Team USA during the 2024 Paralympic Games and made her hosting debut for NBC during the 2024 Summer Olympics.

鈥淭he Paris 2024 Games marked my fourth Paralympics but more notably, my first as a mom. Throughout this entire journey, from navigating through IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) as a professional athlete, competing through pregnancy and balancing sport and postpartum as a breastfeeding mom鈥擨 have experienced firsthand the stigma that still relates to female athletes as they continue their career through motherhood. As a result, at each turn I have been passionate to serve as an example that motherhood is a comma, not a period as it relates to our identity as women,鈥� says Weggemann. 鈥淲e are at a time where women in sport are rising, and it is important that we continue to utilize our voices and platforms to ensure the next generation, my daughter鈥檚 generation, has the access, opportunity and equality they deserve.鈥�

Legette-Jack, an All-American during her days at 性视界, has become a trailblazer in women鈥檚 sports, including winning the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Coach of the Year, the first 性视界 coach to earn the honor in basketball since the University joined the ACC.

Moderated by Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Candace Campbell Jackson, these remarkable women will explore the themes of resilience, leadership and the ever-evolving landscape of women鈥檚 sports. Their conversation will offer powerful insights into how they鈥檝e navigated their respective careers, driven by perseverance, hard work and a commitment to breaking boundaries.

The popularity of women鈥檚 sports experienced a tremendous boost in 2023, with the 2023 NCAA women鈥檚 basketball championship game experiencing a 103% increase in viewership (Louisiana State University beat Caitlin Clark and the University of Iowa), and the 2023 women鈥檚 World Cup enjoyed record-breaking audiences in several countries around the world. This rise has not only made athletes like Clark and Megan Rapinoe household names,聽it has also ignited an industry that鈥檚 expected to bring in more than $1 billion in revenue for the first time in 2024.

Visit the for more information and to RSVP.

Data scientist and artificial intelligence (AI) expert will visit campus on Wednesday, March 6, as the featured speaker for the University鈥檚 annual Spring Lecture. Her talk, 鈥淕enerative AI and the Future of Humanity,鈥� will begin at 7 p.m. in the Schine Student Center鈥檚 Goldstein Auditorium.

Chowdhury鈥檚 remarks will touch on how AI will impact the lives of students, what policymakers have missed鈥攂oth positively and negatively鈥攖hat will significantly affect students and what bearing AI will have on the upcoming U.S. election cycle.

Chowdhury will also participate in a Q&A session with , associate provost for faculty affairs, and , University professor and director of the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The event is free and open to the public, but for entry. Additionally, the University鈥檚 will be enforced.

Chowdhury is a data scientist and social scientist. She is the CEO of the tech nonprofit Humane Intelligence, which builds a community of practice around evaluations of AI models. She is also the Responsible AI Fellow at Harvard University鈥檚 Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.

Previously, Chowdhury was the director of the Machine Learning, Ethics, Transparency and Accountability (META) team at Twitter (now X), as well as the global lead for responsible AI at Accenture Applied Intelligence. She was named one of Time鈥檚 100 Most Influential People in AI, BBC鈥檚 100 Women, Worthy Magazine鈥檚 Top 100, recognized by San Francisco Business Times as one of the Bay Area鈥檚 top 40 under 40 and named by Forbes as one of Five Who are Shaping AI.

Chowdhury holds two undergraduate degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a master鈥檚 degree in quantitative methods of the social sciences from Columbia University and a doctorate in political science from the University of California San Diego.

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available. For more information, or to request additional accommodations, contact Sarah McAndrew at provost@syr.edu.

from the 性视界 University Student Box Office.