Jean Harvey-Berino, chair of the UVM's department of nutrition and food sciences received the College's highest award for research and scholarship on April 18 during Honors Day ceremonies in the Benedict Auditorium of Marsh Life Science Building.

Following are remarks made by College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Rachel Johnson in presenting the Hubert W. Vogelmann Award for Excellence in Research & Scholarship:

Professor Harvey-Berino has been a member of the UVM faculty for 17 years, arriving at UVM as an assistant professor in 1991. As soon as she became chair, she made two upper level degree programs a priority: a PhD program in human nutrition and a graduate program in dietetics that includes dietetic internships. She was unwavering when the inevitable setbacks occurred. Where others had become discouraged, Jean pushed ahead. The PhD program now thrives with five enrolled students and another 12 in the department's two master's degree programs and the first class of five dietetics graduate students enrolled in fall 2007.

Meanwhile, Dr. Harvey-Berino's life's work focuses on the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity, the number one public health problem facing our nation. Her research and scholarship appears in prestigious journals known for publishing important high quality research. Since 1997, Jean has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the most highly competitive national funding source for behavioral health researchers. In 1999, Jean received an NIH R01 award – the mark of a senior scientist engaged in significant research. NIH renewed the funding in 2004, and in 2005 Jean Harvey-Berino garnered the largest grant in our college's history; a $3.5 million NIH grant to study Internet assisted obesity treatment.

More important than these grants and publications is the impact of Jean's work. Her research demonstrated that on-line participants in a behavioral weight loss program could lose as much weight as those attending weight loss programs in person. Jean was quoted in the national press saying, "if we can continue this success rate via the Internet, we'll have solid information for clinicians and policymakers looking for low-cost, high-reach obesity treatment."

Her new "IReach" program in collaboration with University of Arkansas, increased both the numbers and the diversity of participants. That wasn't enough for Jean. This same weight-loss program reached thousands more with "The EatingWell Diet – 7 Steps to a Healthy, Trimmer You," which she co-authored. It is EatingWell Media Group's number-one selling book and a nominee for both a 2007 Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Award and the prestigious James Beard Award. Clearly Jean Harvey-Berino is a marathon runner both figuratively and literally.

As Professor Catherine Donnelly wrote, "She has not only sustained excellence in her research and scholarly activities, but the applications of her work are saving lives and improving the quality of life of individuals living with obesity."

When her program participants lost 21 pounds in 6 months, Jean gained worldwide media attention. I've heard that she has never watched her broadcast clips – not even the one when she appeared on the "Today Show" with Katie Couric. Jean once divulged her wish to be on Oprah. This is a totally realistic goal given Jean Harvey-Berino's expertise and persistence and Oprah Winfrey's personal interest in weight loss!

Most people here know, that this past year while Jean Harvey-Berino, at the peak of her career thus far, enjoyed the successes of these new NFS department degrees, her NIH grants and book award nominations, she also underwent treatment for cancer. Sometimes the juxtapositions life deals us are simply too poignant to grasp.

In nominating Jean for this award, the Dean of Continuing Education, Cynthia Beliveau, wrote, While most individuals ... would have retreated, Jean pushed even harder, making sure her research continued to move forward, she wrote, presented at conferences, facilitated VTrim classes, developed curriculum maintained graduate students and continued to create new knowledge in her discipline. Jean's resilience and fortitude" during her treatment "is a signpost of her steely commitment to her scholarship."

Please, join me in celebrating the incomparable career of my colleague in nutrition and my dear friend Jean Harvey-Berino. The Hubert W. Vogelmann Award for Excellence in Research & Scholarship recognizes a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty member for outstanding effort in his or her field, as evidenced by internationally prominent contributions to research and a body of knowledge that advance the discipline. This recipient joins a select group whose work in our college honors Professor Emeritus Hubert "Hub" Vogelmann, former chair of the botany department and himself a model for the award's criteria.