Kirkwood board to consider pastry arts program

CEDAR RAPIDS - Kirkwood Community College officials hope to get state approval for a baking and pastry arts program to start next fall.

The Kirkwood board of trustees will consider approval of the program at a meeting Thursday. Board approval is needed before sending the plan to the state Department of Education.

Baking and pastry arts classes now are embedded in the culinary arts curriculum at Kirkwood, said John Henik, associate vice president for academic affairs and acting dean of hospitality programs. This change would make available to students a separate one-year degree or certificate in bakery and pastry arts, Henik said.

It likely will appeal most to students already in the culinary arts program who want to add a pastry certificate or degree with a few more classes, Henik said. Certificates require less classes than do diplomas, but signify taking several classes in a specialty area.

"It's really to provide some additional credentials for our culinary students who are getting two-year culinary degrees," he said.

Many of the baking and pastry arts classes already are available to students, but Kirkwood can't offer the certificate or diploma until shifting the structure of the program and getting state approval, Henik said. One of the big structure changes is to make sure the program is "laddered" for students who want to take classes in the bakery program and then go on to earn a two-year degree, he said.

It's expected about 30 students will be interested in the program next fall, Henik said.