September 12, 2014
State representatives from East Hartford praised a new partnership announced Friday between Connecticut’s flagship public university and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, a nationally recognized nonprofit research center dedicated to informing policy decisions surrounding obesity prevention.
Officials from the University of Connecticut and the Rudd Center discussed the center’s new affiliation with UConn during a ceremony at Goodwin Elementary School in East Hartford that emphasized the importance of research in preventing obesity and improving the health of young people.
“This is an incredible opportunity for the Rudd Center to partner with the University of Connecticut as we attempt to tackle some of the most critical challenges we face as a state and society,” said Rep. Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford, Manchester). “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Obesity has immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being of not only individuals but on our country as a whole.”
Rep. Henry Genga (D-East Hartford), citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said one in three children in the United States are obese or overweight. “The immediate and long-term effects of obesity threaten the well-being of our most precious young people,” Genga said. “Obesity is an issue that should be brought to the forefront in healthcare and this new partnership is an important step in the right direction.”
Rep. Timothy Larson (D-East Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor) said, “Anytime we can bring together resources like UConn and the prestigious Rudd Center, which has an international reputation for science and public policy advocacy, to educate and ultimately reduce obesity in children it is a great accomplishment.”
“The Rudd Center has developed an outstanding national and international reputation for sound science and strategic policy advocacy,” said Mun Choi, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Connecticut. “We are thrilled to have the Rudd Center join UConn as we build a growing record of excellence at our institution.”
“The Rudd Center will bring its expertise and high quality work to UConn and build upon the great work that UConn’s faculty and students do every day. I want to thank UConn for making this announcement in East Hartford and for making me a proud Husky as an alumni of the university,” Rojas said.
Previously located at Yale University, the center and its faculty will move to UConn in January 2015. It is one of the first major initiatives of UConn’s Academic Vision, which prioritizes health and wellness research as an integral part of the university’s mission.
Recently ranked as one of the nation’s most effective nonprofits working on nutrition policy, the Rudd Center is a leader in conducting cutting-edge research to inform pressing public policy issues; its work is widely used by policy makers and health advocates.
The Rudd Center is currently anchored by four core faculty members, all national experts in their fields: Marlene Schwartz, Rudd Center director; Rebecca Puhl, deputy director; Jennifer Harris, director of food marketing initiatives; and Tatiana Andreyeva, director of economic initiatives.
“We are excited to join UConn and the community of world-class researchers whose work is relevant to childhood obesity and weight stigma,” said Schwartz. “By joining UConn during this monumental time of growth, the Rudd Center will remain a leader in addressing how home environments, school landscapes, neighborhoods, and the media shape the eating attitudes and behaviors of children.”
The move will allow those researchers to expand their work and build new collaborations with UConn experts on nutrition, public policy, psychology, agriculture, economics, and obesity – many located within the University’s Center for Health, Intervention and Prevention (CHIP), where the Rudd Center will be situated.
Importantly, the Rudd Center’s relocation to Hartford’s Constitution Plaza, near UConn’s Graduate Business Learning Center, positions their resources near Connecticut policymakers.