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About the Dean

Eileen Kennedy, D.Sc., R.D.

A Biography of Eileen T. Kennedy, D.Sc., R.D.

An international nutrition policy expert, Eileen Kennedy was named dean of the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts in 2004. Throughout her career, Kennedy has championed nutrition research and its application to policy, from her seven years as a leading voice for nutrition at the US Department of Agriculture ( USDA) to her studies of maternal and child health and nutrition in Africa, Asia, North and Central America. Her policy leadership has included involvement with the United Nations, the National Academy of Sciences, the White House National Science and Technology Council, the White House Biotechnology Subcommittee, the Surgeon General's Task Force on Health Disparities, among others. While serving as deputy under secretary and then acting under secretary at the USDA, she created the "Healthy Eating Index," a validated measure for researchers monitoring nutrition and earned her a worldwide reputation. Recently, Kennedy was president of the Global Nutrition Institute, which seeks to link science-based nutrition research to action through public/private partnerships. A graduate of Hunter College, she holds two master's degrees from Pennsylvania State University and Harvard and earned her Doctor of Science in Nutrition from Harvard's School of Public Health.