Professor David Edens was appointed as the new chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science.
The appointment was announced in late December by Ethan Orr, dean of the Huntley College of Agriculture.
Edens was hired as an assistant professor at Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ in 2017 after working for five years as a lecturer. He also worked as the former chef director for the Culinary Arts Programs at the Art Institute of California – Hollywood and department chair of Advanced Culinary Arts at Le Cordon Bleu Los Angeles.
Edens earned his associate’s degree in culinary arts from the California School of Culinary Arts; his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; his master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Southern California; and his doctorate in higher education from Azusa Pacific University.
In addition to being an educator, he has worked as a chef for Sean Knight in Pinot Blanc in Napa Valley and Dickenson’s West Catering in Pasadena.
He takes the place of Professor Harmit Singh, who was the department chair for the past eight years. Singh will begin working with the dean’s office to support the college with fundraising and external relations, Orr said.
In addition, Professor Gabriel Davidov-Pardo was named the associate chair for the department.
Davidov-Pardo served as the interim associate dean for the Huntley College in 2024-25. He previously served as interim department chair in Fall 2022, and interim faculty director of undergraduate programs and general education in Spring 2021.
Davidov-Pardo was named the college’s Teacher of the Year in 2017 and Advisor of the Year in 2019.
He joined Cal Poly ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ in 2015. He earned his doctorate in food science and technology from the Public University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain.