Robert Beelman, retired professor emeritus of Food Science, and wife, Nancy, create the "Robert and Nancy Beelman Program Support Endowment for Plan and Mushroom Foods for Health"

Robert and Nancy Beelman created the "Robert and Nancy Beelman Program Support Endowment for Plant and Mushroom Foods for Health." The endowment will provide support for faculty or programs in the Department of Food Science related to plant and mushroom products. Robert Beelman, professor emeritus of food science, recently retired after 40 years of service. His research has focused on cultural, postharvest and minimal-processing practices to improve quality and safety of fruit, vegetable and mushroom products; development of methods to control malolactic fermentation in winemaking; and evaluation of bioactive components from mushrooms and their impact on human health and use in the development of functional foods.