The department of nutrition at UMass has received a $90,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the Nutrition Multicultural Scholarship Program.
The program, which provides $6,000 scholarships for five undergraduate students for three years of study leading to a bachelor’s of science degree in nutrition, is designed to recruit, retain and provide mentors and train high-quality undergraduate multicultural scholars in nutrition.
“This is an excellent opportunity to increase the diversity of our students and future nutritionists and to set up a system to support diverse learners beyond these funded years,” said Nancy Cohen, professor and head of the Department of Nutrition.
Along with Cohen, the program is being run by Pamela Marsh-Williams, assistant provost and dean for the Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support Center (UAASC) and director of Pre-Major Advising Services, and Matthew L. Ouellett, associate director of the Center for Teaching.
Special features of the program include a scholars’ seminar, a one-credit course aimed at developing social support, mentorship and professional preparation through research projects and community service projects, a peer tutoring system where senior nutrition majors provide tutoring in math, science, nutrition and other courses, finding community mentors who are nutrition practitioners of researchers in the field as well as giving participants the opportunity to serve as mentors to first year students.
The program is also designed to highlight the many rewarding careers within the nutrition major. Not only researching problems such as obesity, diabetes and eating disorders, Cohen highlighted additional career paths.
“Nutritionists teach people about nutrition education to children in schools and adults, work in hospitals and clinics providing nutrition counseling and care plans,” said Cohen. “[Nutritionists also] address malnutrition in developing countries, work with medical supplement and food companies to develop and promote nutritionally-sound products and perform research into how a healthy nutritional diet can prevent diseases such as heart disease and cancer, and treat many other conditions.”
Currently, nutritionists are not representative of the populations served in terms of race/ethnicity and gender, according to Cohen. This grant will provide scholarships for five students who are underrepresented in the field of nutrition, who newly join the major and who meet and maintain qualifying criteria.
The program will foster collaboration between the Department of Nutrition, the UAASC, the Center for Teaching and other campus programs to reach underserved students. It’s hoped to develop an array of innovative programs for mentoring, community service and research lab experiences, and spread awareness to diverse settings and communities both nationally and globally.
Promotion for the scholarship will take place through professors, student and dormitory groups, and campus advising centers, such as the New Students Program and the Undergraduate Advising and Academic Support Center.
Applications will be accepted during the upcoming fall semester and the scholarships will begin the following spring semester.
