The Ruth L. Huenemann Fellowship Endowment

Ruth Huenemann, who created UT's Public Health Nutrition program in 1941, was a pioneer in her field. Born on a farm in Iowa in 1910, the second child and the oldest girl of 14 children, she learned to be a skilled cook and a well-organized household manager.

To save money for college, she taught in a one-room schoolhouse for five years during the Depression. She earned her bachelor's degree in nutrition from the University of Wisconsin in 1938 and her master's degree in nutrition from the University of Chicago in 1941.

After 10 years as an associate professor at UT, she earned her PhD from Harvard University in 1953, then joined the University of California at Berkeley's School of Public Health, where she founded its public health nutrition program and taught for 24 years. As a researcher, she was known for her longitudinal studies of nutrition and physical activity among adolescents and children to determine the onset and prevalence of factors related to the development of adult obesity. The public health nutrition programs she started at UT and UC Berkeley are still recognized as national leaders.

Huenemann traveled throughout Latin America, Asia, and Europe as a consultant and lecturer for the World Health Organization, the US State Department's food aid program, and many international health and nutrition organizations. She died in 2005 at the age of 95.

On the 50th anniversary of UT's Public Health Nutrition program, Huenemann's friends, colleagues, and former students raised funds to support a fellowship in her name. With a gift in her will, Huenemann added to the award, which is given to graduate students who demonstrate professional promise in the field. Today the Ruth L. Huenemann Fellowship Endowment supports graduate students in the Public Health Nutrition program in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences.

You, too, can make a difference when you endow your gift to UT. Contact the Office of Gift Planning at 865-974-3388 or giftplanning@utk.edu to learn how your support can make an impact on future Vols for years to come.