Chef Joseph Strangis has accepted the position of chair of the hospitality program, with a concentration in culinary arts, at Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus. Strangis brings with him 40 years of community college teaching and industry experience in the culinary arts. He earned an associate of science in restaurant/food service management, with training as a culinary apprentice, from the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh; a bachelor of science in hospitality management from Florida International University in Miami; and a master of education in higher education from Ohio University in Athens. Strangis is also a veteran of U.S. Navy, serving during the Viet Nam era.
Strangis has culinary experience in restaurants, hotels, country clubs, and catering in Pittsburgh, Miami, New Orleans, and Youngstown, Ohio. He has served as a consultant for the Jamaica Tourist Board, training chefs at the island’s resort destinations, and as executive chef of the European Village Restaurants at the 1984 Louisiana World’s Fair. He is a long-standing member of the American Culinary Federation and is currently a member of the Greater Indianapolis Chapter.
Ivy Tech’s culinary arts concentration leads to an associate of applied science in hospitality administration with a concentration in culinary arts. It provides students with culinary fundamentals, advanced skills, baking and pastries, classical and international cuisine, management principles, and a required internship under the direction of an experienced chef.
Courses slated for the fall 2010 semester include Sanitation and CPR/ First Aid; Basic Food Theory and Skills; Nutrition; Hospitality Purchasing and Cost Control; Soups, Stocks, and Sauces; and Introduction to Baking.
The hospitality industry is the largest private employer in the country, according to the United States Department of Labor, the American Culinary Federation, and the National Restaurant Association. Statistics indicate that the demand for culinary graduates will continue to grow. The culinary arts concentration will train students for positions in restaurants, hotels, country clubs, health care facilities, retirement homes, corporations, schools, and colleges. Strangis commented, “Training in the culinary field of the hospitality industry will provide a skilled workforce and encourage economic growth in Columbus and south central Indiana. I’m excited to be joining Ivy Tech at this time as the hospitality program continues to grow.”