Pamela White, University Professor of food science and human nutrition, has been named interim dean of the College of Human Sciences, effective July 1.
The job is a familiar one for White. She served as interim dean of the former College of Family and Consumer Sciences from July 1, 2003 until July 1, 2005, working with students, faculty and staff to combine efforts with those from the former College of Education to form the College of Human Sciences. She continued as interim dean of the College of Human Sciences, easing the transition from its launch on July 1, 2005, until Cheryl Achterberg assumed the dean's position on September 1 of the same year. Achterberg is leaving to become dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University.
"We are very pleased to have Dr. Pam White named as the interim Dean of the College of Human Sciences," said JaneAnn Stout, associate dean and director of Extension to Families. "Dr. White was instrumental in the formation of the College of Human Sciences, a background that will serve her and the college well as she hits the ground running."
White's biotechnology research is aimed at creating new and improved products for the food industry. She studies the oxidation of edible oils and their sensory and chemical changes, uses of antioxidants in oils, and the structure and function of soluble fiber. She received the Alton E. Bailey Award for outstanding research accomplishments in fats and oils from the American Oil Chemists' Society in 2002.
With researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, White developed heart-healthy corn that is low in polyunsaturated fat and high in oleic fatty acid, an unsaturated fat that raises levels of good cholesterol.
She recently received a $495,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue her research on beta-glucan, a dietary fiber, designed to improve the nutritional content of oat-based foods such as cereals and muffins. Her earlier research led to doubling the amount of heart-healthy beta-glucans in oats.
White earned a bachelor's degree in foods and nutrition science in 1972 and a masters in food science in 1974, both from the University of Washington, Seattle. She joined the faculty at Iowa State University as an instructor in food science and human nutrition in 1975. She received her Ph.D. in food technology from Iowa State in 1981.
"Dr. White is a highly respected scholar, and has earned the loyalty and respect among those she has worked with," said Stout. "In her roles as a faculty member, interim department chair and interim dean, she has developed a unique understanding of the breadth and depth of our work on campus, in the state, across the nation and internationally. She cares deeply about ISU students, staff, faculty and alumni and our many connections in teaching research, outreach and Extension."
A public announcement and statement by Elizabeth Hoffman, executive vice president and provost, will be released later today.
