Chobani Inc. and Cornell University have partnered to promote innovation in dairy and food science. Made possible by a $1.5 million gift from the yogurt company to the university, the partnership marks an important step in elevating the broader dairy industry and New York’s role as a yogurt leader through innovative research.
The gift will establish a research and training program that will support graduate student research along with workforce development in dairy quality. It’s part of the “Cornell Now” campaign, which is rallying private support for the Ithaca campus and Weill Cornell Medical College in anticipation of the university's sesquicentennial in 2015. To date, the campaign has reached more than 85 percent of its $4.75 billion goal for fundraising.
In addition, the company named Dr. Alejandro Mazzotta as vice president of Global Quality, Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs. Mazzotta brings to the team more than two decades of leadership in microbiology, food science and compliance at global packaged goods companies and a respected track record of industry research.
“This partnership will strengthen the science behind New York’s dairy industry and help us better accomplish our land-grant mission to bring new information, technologies and a well-prepared workforce to this expansive industry,” says Kathryn J. Boor, the Ronald P. Lynch dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Our goal is not only high-quality dairy products, but also economic growth in communities that need it the most.”
New York, with a yogurt production that now accounts for 70 percent of all Greek yogurt sales, according to the company, surpasses California as the country’s top yogurt producer. PD
—From Chobani Inc. and Cornell University news release
