New dean of Nutrition School will begin term in July

The Board of Trustees announced yesterday that Dr. Eileen Kennedy will undertake the role of Dean of the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Kennedy will begin her term July 1.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Friedman School because its greatest strength is in the diversity of its curriculum and research," Kennedy said in a press release. "The challenges we face in a world of abundant food and the loss of health that comes from both over-consumption and under-consumption of food call for nutrition leaders who can work across the entire spectrum of nutrition represented here at Tufts."

Kennedy brings experience from her extensive academic, governmental, and policy background, Kennedy has been involved with research and teaching roles at Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, and Tufts.

"Professor Kennedy's career is a terrific match for the Friedman School, and her work illustrates the founding principle of the school -- to embrace nutrition from the science to the policy," University Provost Jamshed Bharucha said in the release.

Current Friedman School dean and international and national nutrition policy specialist Dr. Irwin Rosenberg explained that the responsibility of the job is to act as the chief academic officer of the Friedman School, and ultimately the chief operating officer of the enterprise. "The dean has to not only lead in activity of faculty and students but also project the qualities and image of the school externally in such as way as to continue to attract finest faculty, students, and fiscal support," he said in the release.

Rosenberg, who will be ending his ten year career as dean, will continue at the Friedman School in a research and teaching role. Rosenberg expressed his confidence in Kennedy's capacity to lead.

"I was very pleased and excited by the choice," Rosenberg said. "I've known Dr. Kennedy for a long time, and I have great respect for her abilities as a leader and for her vision in the field of nutrition."

Kennedy acted as deputy undersecretary and then acting undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Her position helped to coordinate policy and research among agencies on nutritional and environmental issues and dealt with a budget of $2.2 billion.

During her time there, she also worked to develop the "Healthy Eating Index," a key tool for nutrition researchers around the world.

Her policy experience includes involvement with United Nations, the National Academy of Sciences, the White House National Science and Technology Council, the White House Biotechnology Subcommittee, the Surgeon General's Task Force on Health Disparities and many other organizations.

Kennedy was also president of the Global Nutrition Institute and global executive director of the International Life Sciences Institute, and co-chaired the National Nutrition Summit in 1999-2000.

A registered dietician, Kennedy holds an undergraduate degree from Hunter College and Masters' degrees from Pennsylvania State University and Harvard University as well as a Doctorate of Science in Nutrition from the Harvard School of Public Health.

"The trustees were very pleased with the appointment and they were very happy to approve it," Secretary of the Office of the Trustees Linda Dixon said.

Dr. Kennedy is the fourth woman to join the upper ranks of Tufts administration: the Dean of the Sackler School, Engineering School, School of Arts and Sciences, and the CEO of Tufts-New England Medical Center are all women.

The appointment ends the search committee's year-long hunt for a new dean of the Friedman School. The search committee was led by Dr. Robert Russell.

The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy is one of only a few schools to grant a degree in Nutrition Policy as well as Nutrition Science, and is well-known for its emphasis on the application of nutritional research to national and international policymaking.