Dr. Irwin Rosenberg will step down as the Dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at the end of the spring semester. Rosenberg, who earned the title of University Professor last year, will focus more time on his research and as a spokesman for nutrition and health.
Rosenberg's current plans include maintaining his wide array of other duties, such as teaching and research.
As part of his ongoing research, Rosenberg will continue to lead a laboratory on Nutrition and Cognition at Tufts' Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA), he said. He will also continue as editor of the Tufts Health and Nutrition Letter and Nutrition in Clinical Care and associate editor of Nutrition Reviews."
In addition to increasing nutrition awareness in general, he will be able to spend more time as a spokesman for the Friedman School of Nutrition. He hopes to be a "spokesperson on nutrition and science and nutrition and health and the need for more nutrition in our health care planning," he said.
Rosenberg accomplished a great deal during his ten years as Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition. His 15 years as the director of the HNRCA ended with his appointment as University Professor in October, 2001. Rosenberg was also the first holder of the Jean Mayer Chair in Nutrition.
The Friedman School of Nutrition recently received a $1.5 million donation from Trustee Edward Budd to begin an endowment effort and a $500,000 grant from the US Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to research obesity in elementary school students.
Rosenberg made his decision to step down after "his extraordinary accomplishments with serving a naming gift and uniting the school in the new building," Provost James Bharucha said in a Nov. 21 e-mail to students. The Friedman School of Nutrition was relocated to the first floor of the Jaharis Family Center on Tufts' Boston campus early last month.
A national search to locate Rosenberg's replacement will begin as soon as a committee can be formed and the position will be filled by fall 2003. Tufts' early announcement of the position's availability is expected to aid the transition process, as Rosenberg will be able to both search for and train his replacement. Rosenberg "will play an important role in a smooth transition to his successor," Bharucha said.
Undergraduates will feel little impact from the change, administrators say. "All of our professional schools enhance the University as a whole," Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Ernst said. The Nutrition School "offers many wonderful opportunities for undergraduate research and scholarship," which should not change as a result of Rosenberg's decision, she said.
As Dean of Students Bruce Reitman explained, "The students who study nutrition are those primarily affected."
Acting as University Professor will allow Rosenberg to relate with students who are not studying nutrition. "I hope to be able to have more exposure to undergraduate students and students throughout the University," he said.
Rosenberg's expertise is in the field of aging and nutrition, and his research has focused on the affect of vitamin metabolism on cognitive brain function. He has written over 300 scientific papers in addition to five books, and was awarded the Commissioner's Special Citation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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