THIBODAUX — The director of two internationally renowned sugar industry education programs at Nicholls State University was honored for his work in Toronto last week.
Dr. Robert Falgout, retired Nicholls agriculture professor and director of the Cane Sugar Refiners’ Institute and the Raw Cane Sugar Manufacturers’ Institute, was presented with the Crystal Award for achievement in sugar technology at the international Sugar Industry Technologists annual meeting on Tuesday, May 20.
Falgout, who retired as a professor of agriculture in 1998, has directed the sugar institutes for 37 years. He will retire after teaching his final pair of workshops this summer. The two-week summer programs, aimed at mid-management professionals in the sugar industry, attract attendees and industry experts from all over the nation and up to 40 countries on nearly every continent.
“Nicholls has become a world leader in sugar education,” said Falgout. “If you want to be something in the sugar industry, the road to success leads through Nicholls.”
Technical and engineering graduates generally know little or nothing about sugar refining and processing, so companies send them to Nicholls to learn in less than two weeks what would otherwise require several years on the job.
The first institutes focused only on refiners, those who produce white sugar. But since 1985, a second institute for manufacturers of raw cane sugar also has been offered.
Over the years, more than 1,800 professionals have studied under Falgout at the sugar institutes. Upon receiving his award at the international conference, Falgout said he asked attendees to stand if they’d ever attended one of Nicholls’ programs. Half the room rose from their chairs.
For more information on the Cane Sugar Refiners’ Institute, the Raw Cane Sugar Manufacturers’ Institute and other adult education programs, visit the Office of Continuing Education at www.nicholls.edu/continuing-ed or call 985-448-4444.
