The Department of Public Health & Nutrition is an integral part of EIU and the College of Health & Human Services. We embody the mission of the University: we are ALL IN for our students. Our faculty has over 200 years of combined experience, and we are dedicated to preparing our students for a variety of challenging and rewarding professions in the areas of Community Health Education, Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness, Health Administration, and Nutrition & Dietetics.
In January 2022, the Department of Public Health and the Nutrition & Dietetics program merged to form our new combined department, and we are excited to add another layer of interdisciplinary collaboration within our department. The two units had been partnering for several years, leading to the minor in Nutrition & Dietetics, and the minor in Workplace Wellness. With this new partnership, Nutrition and Dietetics students have access to our Departmental Honors Program, which will link to the new Accelerated MS: Nutrition & Dietetics program. The Accelerated MS: Health Promotion program has welcomed 10+ students, many of whom were Departmental Honors students, and we expect to see a similar pattern with the Nutrition & Dietetics program.
We are excited about the interdisciplinary major in Health Communication, our latest collaboration with the School of Communication & Journalism, and an outgrowth of our interdisciplinary minor in Health Communication. EIU students now have the opportunity to be a part of the only undergraduate major in Health Communication in the Midwest. AND....it is available in BOTH a face-to-face and an online delivery modality. Contact Dr. Beth Gill (egill@eiu.edu) for more information about the Health Comm program.
In addition to a strong student focus in the classroom, our faculty are actively involved in research, publishing and presenting at regional and national conferences -- as well as finding ways to engage our students in research. Every year, our students present original research at local, regional, and national conferences, mentored by our faculty.
The Department makes an EXTRAORDINARY INVESTMENT to make sure our students have the experiences that make them better candidates for jobs, graduate school, or whatever the next step is. Close student-faculty interactions are the hallmark of our Department. It doesn't matter how long it has been since a student has graduated -- once a Public Health & Nutrition student, ALWAYS a Public Health & Nutrition student. Faculty routinely serve as references for alumni as they apply for jobs or graduate programs. Even better is when we can work with alumni as colleagues. Many of our student's internship supervisors are alumni of our program. Even some of our faculty are alumni.
Want to know more? Feel free to contact any of the faculty with questions.
Not sure where to start? Feel free to email me. I'll be happy to answer your questions or put you in touch with someone in the Department who can.
Sincerely,
Chair
