Interim Dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

April 14, 2011

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Robin Kanarek, John Wade Professor in the School of Arts and Sciences, will serve as Interim Dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, effective July 1st. An internationally renowned expert in the field of nutrition and behavior, Professor Kanarek is an exemplary University citizen and an outstanding scientist, teacher, and leader. For more than thirty-five years, she has pursued groundbreaking work in nutrition, and is deeply committed to advancing the mission of the Friedman School during her tenure as Interim Dean.

Professor Kanarek received her B.A. in biology from Antioch College, and M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology from Rutgers University. Following graduate school, she was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University, and then a research fellow in the Division of Endocrinology at UCLA. She joined the Tufts faculty as a member of the Department of Psychology in 1977 and has served as Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at the Friedman School since 1989. Throughout her career at Tufts, Professor Kanarek has been actively involved in undergraduate and graduate education. In 2000 she received the Tufts University Senate Professor of the Year award, and in 2009 the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences award for Outstanding Contribution to Graduate Education. From 1996 until 2002, she served as the Chair of the Department of Psychology, and from 2002 until 2006 as the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Professor Kanarek’s research has investigated a wide range of nutrition topics, including the effects of nutritional variables on the development of obesity and diabetes, the physiological and behavioral factors influencing diet selection in experimental animals and humans, and the roles of nutrients and physical activity in determining the consequences of psychoactive drugs. Most recently, she has been studying the effects of obesity and diabetes on cognitive behavior, and the effects of nutritional variables on cognitive behavior in children and adults. She is an author of more than 100 publications, and has presented the results of her research at numerous international and national conferences. Professor Kanarek is a member of the editorial boards of the Tufts University Health and Nutrition Newsletter, Physiology and Behavior, and Nutritional Neuroscience, and is past editor-in-chief of Nutrition and Behavior. Widely recognized among scientists and policy experts alike, she has served as a member of the Committee on Military Nutrition Research for the National Academy of Sciences, and on review committees for the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation.

The process to find a new dean will resume once President-elect Monaco and the next provost have had a chance to consider together the opportunity to appoint a leader of the Friedman School. In the meanwhile, please join us in thanking Professor Kanarek for taking on this important role as Interim Dean of the Friedman School.

Jamshed Bharucha
Provost and Senior Vice President

Peggy Newell
Vice Provost