Contact: Rosanne Fohn
Phone: (210) 567-3079
E-mail: fohn@uthscsa.edu

The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and Texas A&M International University signed an agreement to offer a joint bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics.
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Obesity among U.S. adults has doubled in the past 30 years to 30 percent and is even higher ― 36 percent ― in Texas, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In an effort to help reverse this unhealthy trend, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and Texas A&M International University signed an agreement on Wednesday, Oct. 10, to offer a joint bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics ― the first known joint program between two university systems in Texas.

UT Health Science Center President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., and TAMIU President Ray Keck, Ph.D., signed the agreement at The UT Health Science Center’s new Academic Building on the Laredo Campus Extension, dedicated earlier that day.

Obesity is a major health problem
“This is a major health issue, especially in South Texas,” Dr. Cigarroa said. “Our joint program with TAMIU is a great example of educational institutions working together for the good of the community. It will provide educational opportunities in a growing career field and good nutritional guidance for South Texans.”

"The joint Bachelor of Science program in Nutrition and Dietetics is especially relevant here in Laredo," said Dan Jones, Ph.D., TAMIU provost. “Sadly, our service area can trace many chronic health problems to poor diet, including increased incidences of diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Students completing this undergraduate program, and a planned Master of Science Degree in Nutrition Sciences, will provide the service and research expertise to help our community address these problems in a pro-active and culturally sensitive manner. We are very much looking forward to welcoming students to this joint program in fall of 2008," Dr. Jones said.

Orange and maroon on the same diploma
“What is different about this program is that it is a true collaboration between two different universities in two different systems,” said Dennis Blessing, Ph.D., associate dean for South Texas programs in the School of Allied Health Sciences at the UT Health Science Center. “Graduates from this program will have a diploma with both schools’ names on it.”

“I really want to see that degree in orange and maroon,” said State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, Ph.D., who suggested years ago that the two universities offer a joint degree program. “It’s the first joint degree between two university systems that are often seen as rivals, and there’s no bigger rivalry than between the Longhorns and the Aggies. I also want this to be a model for all the other institutions in Texas.”

Zaffirini noted that she and university leaders are already talking about possibilities for new joint programs for the future.

Nutrition and Dietetics Program
Students must meet certain prerequisites before acceptance into the program. Laredo students can earn their credits close to home at TAMIU, while students entering the program through the UT Health Center’s main campus in San Antonio can earn them from any university.

Classes in Laredo will be taught on the TAMIU campus by Carmen Roman-Shriver, Ph.D., R.D., and her husband, Associate Professor Brent Shriver, Ph.D., a nutritional biochemist. The couple is already living in Laredo and working to develop the program. Additional faculty will be added in the coming year and as the program matures.

Roman-Shriver, director of the Nutrition and Dietetics Program, has more than 25 years of teaching experience and is an active member of several state and national dietetic and nutrition organizations. She also is a member of the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Obesity Task Force and has been a reviewer for the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

The demand is high for nutritionists and dietitians for such employers as hospitals, clinics, schools and the food industry. “With a more sedentary lifestyle and more fast food available than there was 30 years ago, people need guidance on proper portion size, what is good for them to eat and the importance of regular exercise,” Roman-Shriver said. “The dietitians and nutritionists coming through our program are the ones who will turn this dangerous health trend around by helping people learn how to live healthier lives.”

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $536 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care industry, the leading sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 22,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields.

Texas A&M International University
Located in one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, Laredo’s Texas A&M International University (TAMIU), a Member of The Texas A&M University System, is a primarily Hispanic-serving, state-assisted institution offering 78 undergraduate, graduate or doctoral programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education and business, with a special focus on developing an international academic agenda for the State of Texas.

The University was founded in 1970 as Texas A&I University at Laredo, becoming Laredo State University in 1977 and Texas A&M International University in 1993. Its 300-acre campus is located in northeast Laredo and is the first new University constructed in Texas in the past 20 years.