Mission and values

Vision

The Department of Nutrition serves international, national, regional and local communities through discovery of the ways in which foods and their bioactive components contribute to health and the prevention of disease and through effective application of nutrition knowledge to improve human health and well-being.

Mission

The Mission of the Department of Nutrition is to better human health by:

• Contributing to the fundamental knowledge of how nutrients and food components function at cellular, systematic, and whole body levels and impact human health and disease,
• Delivering innovative, research-based interventions and service programs which alter meal patterns and food choices with the goal of improved health of individuals, families, and communities,
• Contributing to the knowledge-base of nutrition undergraduate and graduate students through high quality teaching, training, and research mentorship, and
• Providing service to professional, governmental, and local community organizations.

Values

The Department of Nutrition will demonstrate its commitment to the following Values that have been adopted by UNCG:

• Inclusiveness–A welcoming and inclusive academic community, based on open dialogue and shared governance, offers a culture of caring with visible, meaningful representation of differences;
• Collaboration–Interdisciplinary, intercommunity, inter-institutional and international collaboration is reflected and rewarded in teaching, research, creative activity, community engagement, and infrastructure;
• Sustainability–Academics, operations, and outreach are conducted with careful attention to the enduring interconnectedness of social equity, the environment, economy, and aesthetics;
• Responsibility–A public institution, the University responds to community needs and serves the public in a systematic fashion through the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity; and
• Transparency–Goals, processes, decisions and outcomes are accessible and measurable, resulting in enhanced performance, trust, and accountability.

The Department of Nutrition will also demonstrate its commitment to the following additional Values:

• Professionalism–maintaining the highest standards and demonstrating collegiality and respect in all actions, and
• Innovation–careful attention to new ways to approach teaching, research, and service/outreach.

Goals

1. Access to Education and Student Success
   • Broaden access to the UNCG community through additional GEC courses and courses that incorporate hybrid and on-line technology
   • Attract qualified undergraduate and graduate students through opportunities to work closely with faculty on research throughout their studies
   • Enrich undergraduate experiential learning through opportunities and capstone experiences, and
   • Further integrate service learning experiences
2. Health and Wellness across the Life Cycle
   • Promote the translation of nutrition research to health and quality of life
   • Target health research in obesity, chronic disease, and bioactive food components
   • Develop nutrition interventions and education programs tailored for high risk populations that experience health disparities, and
   • Engage UNCG and local community members as participants in applied research that encourages healthful eating and increased physical activity
3. Education and Leadership Development
   • Incorporate coursework and research activities to develop skills in team building, cooperative learning, and problem solving
   • Involve all students in using the latest technology in their research and course-work
   • Incorporate capstone experiences to develop critical thinking and the ability to apply nutrition skills and knowledge that address global nutrition issues, and
   • Develop professionals with tools that allow students to access credible information and understand how to translate and communicate emerging nutrition knowledge to the public and other professionals
4. Economic, Cultural, and Community Engagement
   • Train professionals to meet the marketplace demands of the health industry, NC biotechnology companies, and government agencies
   • Promote nutrition-related sustainable practices in scholarship, research, and teaching, and
   • Promote sustainability in the community and in the classroom to encourage use of local food sources and create opportunities for healthier lifestyles
5. Internationalization
   • Provide class opportunities that expose students to the culture, history, and foods of other regions
   • Promote international exchange opportunities in education and research to all students, and
   • Offer opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students to conduct research and provide programs to culturally diverse populations