Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology (NST) is celebrating 50 years of dietetics training programs. An early dietetics pilot program was offered in 1971, which evolved into a formal program in 1973. Renowned researcher, Janet King, PhD, was the director of this program. Today, fifty years later, the department welcomes its inaugural class of Master of Nutritional Sciences & Dietetics graduate students.
NST welcomes Patrick Stover, PhD as the speaker for the Special Seminar commemorating 50 Years of Dietetics in Nutritional Sciences. Dr Stover is the Vice Chancellor and Dean of Agriculture and Life Science as well as the Director of the Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture at Texas A&M. Notably, Dr. Stover was a postdoctoral researcher in NST from 1982-1984 before launching his independent research career in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. His research has substantially improved our fundamental understanding of the importance of the vitamin, folate, in the diet, its metabolism and its role in preventing neural tube defects. In addition to a distinguished research career, Dr Stover has served in numerous prestigious roles in the field of nutrition, including being elected president of the American Society for Nutrition and serving as a member of the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies of Medicine. Dr Stover has long been an advocate for evidence-based nutrition policy and practice, and helped to advance the field of dietetics, including launching an elite training program for training PhD-level dietitians at Cornell University. We are fortunate to have Dr. Stover join us to reflect on the history of nutrition & dietetics, including UC Berkeley's substantial contributions to the field, and lay out his vision for its future.