Faculty Advisory Committee Minutes of the Academic Senate 2026-01-12

Approved minutes of a meeting of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Academic Senate of the University of Dayton

Transforming Dietetics Curriculum: A Culinary Nutrition Certificate Grounded in Competency-Based Innovation

Culinary nutrition has become a promising interdisciplinary field that combines culinary arts and nutritional science to enhance health outcomes through practical, food-based education. As the healthcare landscape increasingly emphasizes preventive care, dietitians are well-positioned to lead culinary nutrition initiatives; however, formal training opportunities remain scarce. To address this gap, Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) created a new Culinary Nutrition Certificate that combines experiential cooking coursework from the School of Hospitality with core nutrition education from the Department of Nutrition. This paper places the certificate within the broader context of culinary nutrition and dietetics education, emphasizing the importance of hands-on learning, interdisciplinary teamwork, and culturally responsive training. The certificate’s design, which includes both new and existing coursework, makes use of the university’s unique resources—such as commercial teaching kitchens and diverse faculty expertise—while aligning with key professional competencies for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN). The program aims to improve culinary skills among nutrition students, promote greater diversity within the profession, and encourage hospitality students to explore careers in health and nutrition. The discussion covers implementation strategies, institutional support, and implications for future research and practice. Ultimately, the Culinary Nutrition Certificate provides a scalable model for academic programs to meet the rising demand for culinary nutrition education and to expand the role of dietitians in health promotion

Public Policy Education: Insights From Graduate Dietetics Students

Objective: To examine graduate dietetics students’ experiences completing a public policy course outside of their discipline. Methods: Participants were 40 graduate dietetics students at a university in the Western United States. At the conclusion of a public policy course offered through another department, students completed online surveys with fixed-response and open-ended items. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t tests, and qualitative responses were examined using codebook thematic analysis. Results: Three themes included (1) Recognizing the interconnection between policy and dietetics practice, (2) From policy hesitancy to policy understanding; and (3) Humanizing policy: public policy and holistic client care. Students reported increased comfort with policy topics and identified connections between course content and their future roles. Conclusions and Implications: Students found value in a cross-disciplinary policy course. Cross-department courses may be a feasible and effective strategy for meeting accreditation standards and supporting students’ policy-related knowledge and confidence

Student Academic Policies Committee Minutes of the Academic Senate 2026-01-12

Approved minutes of a meeting of the Student Academic Policies Committee of the Academic Senate of the University of Dayton

Editors’ Message

This edition of the Journal of Dietetic Education highlights specialized skill training and attainment and interprofessional collaboration in dietetic students. Our featured original research explores how we prepare students for the complexities of current practice—ranging from the digital documentation of the Nutrition Care Process (NCP) to the integration of culinary medicine

Implementing an Interprofessional Virtual Journal Club for Health-Focused Students

Students (N = 135) pursuing degrees in health-focused programs participated in an interprofessional virtual journal club during the spring semesters of 2022 and 2023. The journal club was integrated into multiple courses and facilitated through the university’s learning management system and a web conferencing platform. Students applied the 2016 Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies throughout the activity. The journal club included four pre-selected articles on ethics in healthcare, and students developed one discussion question per article to guide synchronous virtual discussions. The IPEC Competency Self-Assessment Tool was administered before and after participation. Paired samples t-tests showed statistically significant change in the Interprofessional Interaction Domain (IID) and the Interprofessional Values Domain (IVD) scores from pre- to post-survey, indicating improved competencies. IID scores increased significantly (t(131) = 7.95, p \u3c .001, d = 0.69), as did IVD scores (t(131) = 3.67, p \u3c .001, d = 0.32). This study contributes to dietetic education by introducing an innovative teaching model that meets Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)-accredited program standards aligning with IPE, demonstrates how web conferencing platforms can overcome traditional IPE challenges, and encourages critical thinking and professional dialogue among students. The virtual journal club incurred no costs and needed minimal resources, offering a scalable, flexible, and effective model for interprofessional education in higher education settings

Preparing Undergraduate Students to Understand the Nutritional Difficulties of Food Insecurity

College students often face the unknown whether they are traditional or non-traditional students, yet not every college student faces the same question of how they will feed themselves throughout the year. This question is becoming increasingly familiar to college students as an average of 41% face food insecurity. Because federal assistance is inadequate, universities bear the responsibility of supporting students who have no other resources to combat food insecurity. The description of this educational teaching strategy focuses on providing nutrition educators with an innovative classroom assignment

Flyer: Annunciation Exhibits

Mary’s acceptance of her role as the mother of Jesus is known as her “fiat.” This flyer promotes an exhibit in which visitors are invited to encounter visual depictions of this moment with the angel Gabriel through two exhibits of Marian Library collections. Exhibit dates: Feb. 10-Oct. 23, 202

Writing Professional Papers Worksheet with Scavenger Hunt: A Simple Strategy to Strengthen Dietetic Writing

Time between learning scientific writing skills and when dietetic students need to transfer that knowledge to discipline-specific research papers in upper division courses may result in a lack of writing skills. Dietetic educators be unfamiliar with writing strategies to improve student writing. A Writing Professional Papers worksheet was developed to help students define components of professional papers, draft a thesis, and then participate in a scavenger hunt using examples of two types of professional papers to identify target issues and avoid common issues seen in student papers. Students in an upper division Maternal and Child Nutrition course responded to an anonymous survey indicating self-perceived impacts of a mini lecture utilizing the Writing Professional Papers worksheet. Eighty-seven percent made changes to their writing methods as a result of what they learned in the mini lecture, and free response comments highlighted students felt better prepared to succeed on their writing assignment. A mini lecture utilizing the Writing Professional Papers worksheet may be an effective strategy to help students reflect on and improve their writing methods