College of Human Sciences
June Henton, Dean334-844-4790
www.humsci.auburn.edu
Adler-Baeder receives award from the Alabama Fatherhood Initiative
Francesca Adler-Baeder, associate professor of human development and family studies in the AU College of Human Sciences, received the Strengthening Alabama Families Award from the Alabama Fatherhood Initiative in June.
Adler-Baeder and 14 other award recipients were recognized for their contributions to the goals of the Alabama Fatherhood Initiative, a network of organizations that assists non-custodial parents in enhancing their ability to provide financial support to their children. It also encourages non-custodial parents to be involved in their children’s lives in a nurturing, constructive way.
Through Adler-Baeder’s leadership, CHS was awarded an $8.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support the work of the Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative, which is a partnership of Auburn University, the Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama and 11 family resource centers and mental health centers. The grant aims to strengthen family bonds by raising public awareness about the importance of healthy marriages for children, family and community well-being; increasing access to healthy marriage resources; and training community members and professionals in research-based programs that strengthen relationships and marriages.
Faculty and Student News
Mona El-Sheikh, professor of human development and family studies in the College of Human Sciences, received the AU Creative Research Award in September.
Claire Zizza, associate professor of nutrition and food science, received the first-ever OCMMIE award from the AU Office of Communications and Marketing. The award, a take-off on the Emmys, honors the faculty member who received the most news coverage in the year.
Jennifer Kerpelman, professor of human development and family studies, and her graduate/undergraduate research team spearheaded the effort for 4-H to become involved in the War on Hunger (see story in Extending the Knowledge).
Angela Montoya, human development and family studies graduate student and charter member of the War on Hunger Committee of 19, spent the summer as an intern at the World Food Programme Headquarters in Rome, Italy.
Bell’s Caffeine Research Highlighted
Leonard Bell, professor of nutrition and food science in the College of Human Sciences, has been making the news with results of a study they conducted on caffeine in soft drinks.
In the August Journal of Food Science, Bell and his fellow researchers published a report showing how much caffeine is contained in a wide array of carbonated beverages. The results showed that the biggest jolts come from citrus-flavored soft drinks. The team analyzed caffeine content in 74 colas, 28 Dr. Pepper or similar-tasting beverages, 26 citrus-flavored soft drinks and another five miscellaneous drinks. The study included nationally known as well as store-variety brands.
In addition to showing that the citrus-flavored drinks offered the most boost, the study also showed that caffeine values varied widely between drinks and even among each type. The researchers recommend that manufacturers start reporting–and posting–these values prominently so that consumers can look for drinks that will offer the amount of caffeine they seek. For more information on the work, visit http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070825/food.asp.