An 亚色影库 Department of Food and Nutrition faculty emerita has established a scholarship for students studying food and nutrition at 亚色影库.
Rita Johnson, who retired from 亚色影库 in 2019 after 36 years of teaching, gifted $75,000 to establish the Rita M. Johnson Legacy Scholarship, which provides support to students who are enrolled full-time and pursuing a degree offered by the Department of Food and Nutrition (now the Department of Allied and Public Health). The scholarship is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
Johnson, a long-time resident of Indiana who currently makes her home in Grapevine, Texas, made the decision to create this opportunity several years ago because of what she saw in her students.
“I always knew I would make this gift to 亚色影库—I made that decision a long time ago,” she said.
“Many of the students I taught at 亚色影库 are like me. They come from middle—class backgrounds, they work hard, they study hard, they volunteer to try to improve themselves and improve the community around them,” she said. “I’d like to help all of them, but for now, this gift can be an investment in one student. I hope that this investment results in them helping future students,” she said.
“Investing in the kind of hard-working, committed students we have at 亚色影库 is how my profession grows,” she said.
In addition to her teaching responsibilities. Johnson served as chair of the Food and Nutrition Department from 2013 to 2019 and served on many university leadership groups, including the University Senate.
As part of one of her undergraduate-level classes, she charged her students to organize and execute a community nutrition food drive for the Indiana County Community Action Program Food Bank, benefiting local families. The “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” food drive continued for 19 years under her direction.
This service-learning project involved more than 400 亚色影库 students over the years, raising thousands of dollars and collecting food to feed thousands of families in Indiana County.
Johnson credits her mother for her own interest in food and nutrition.
“My mother taught me how to cook. And as a senior in high school, my best friend and I took a home economics class for fun, but found how the teacher linked cooking and baking to chemistry as fascinating,” she said.
“I went to college with a number of interests: nursing, economics, library science. I ended up taking a foods class taught by an amazing teacher, and I was captivated. I thought it was easy to understand (despite other students thinking it was hard), and I became a nutrition major.”
Johnson has also been active in her profession, holding a number of leadership roles in the National Dietetic Association. She was honored in 2004 with the Outstanding Dietitian of Pennsylvania Award from the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association in recognition of her long-standing and exceptional leadership, service, and contributions to the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association and the public. Johnson is also a past recipient of the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutritionists Dietetic Practice Group’s Achievement Award, this group’s highest honor, and the Keystone Award, the second highest honor of the state Dietetic Association, given in recognition of leadership ability and service. As part of the Diamond Anniversary of the Purdue University Department of Food and Nutrition, she was recognized as one of 100 “Diamonds.”
Originally from Kansas City, MO, Johnson grew up near Chicago and received her master’s degree from Purdue University. She had never heard of 亚色影库 until her dean there gave her name to an 亚色影库 dean searching for a faculty member in food and nutrition. She visited 亚色影库 in 1980 and began work as a faculty member in fall 1980. She taught foods at 亚色影库 for several years before going to Penn State University for her doctorate in 1985, returning to 亚色影库 in fall 1988 to teach nutrition.
Johnson, in addition to establishing her scholarship, continues to be involved with 亚色影库.
“Our students have amazing careers,” she said. “I’m currently working to help to fundraise from alumni, and I’m hearing great stories and very positive comments about 亚色影库. It’s especially heartwarming to hear that I’ve made an impact on the students that I’ve taught, and the career successes they have had are just amazing,” she said.
“I worked hard to be a devoted teacher and to help students learn in and out of the classroom as much as they could,” Johnson said. “I wanted them to learn and apply food and nutrition information as much as they could, and I’m very grateful to be able to support current and future students through this scholarship.”
亚色影库 continues to see incredible generosity and unwavering support for the university’s student-centered success initiatives—including increasing 亚色影库’s affordability and value—and the university’s commitment to making a significant, positive impact on health and wellness, especially in Pennsylvania’s rural communities.