Welcome From Our Director, Dr. Jaimie Davis

It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the new Director of the School of Health & Human Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. After serving as acting director for the past year, I am excited to continue this work and help shape the future of our school. With 14 years as faculty with Nutritional Sciences, my connection to UT Austin and this community runs much deep. Even deeper because I grew up in Austin and earned both my undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Nutritional Sciences here.  As such, I am deeply invested in the people, programs, and mission that make our school and this University so special.

For more than two decades, my research has focused on designing and evaluating nutrition interventions to improve health and prevent obesity and related diseases, particularly among children and families facing the greatest barriers to healthy foods. Much of this work has centered on school gardens, and through my EdEN Lab, our team of five full-time staff provides school garden training and support to hundreds of schools across the country. At the heart of my work is a simple belief: every child and family deserves access to healthy foods and the opportunity to live a healthy life.

As Director, I am excited to build on the tremendous momentum of our School while focusing on several important priorities. These include strengthening recruitment and enrollment, rebranding and marketing our School, and continuing to build awareness of the unique opportunities we offer. We will also oversee the continued renovation of Gearing Hall and ensure that this incredible space is thoughtfully used to support undergraduate teaching and student learning.

Just as importantly, I want to foster a School culture that embraces transdisciplinary science and education, experiential learning, and career readiness and development. We have a truly distinctive identity at UT Austin: we are a School grounded in rigorous science while keeping people and human well-being at the center of everything we do. I believe that combination gives us an extraordinary opportunity to prepare students to address some of the most complex health and human challenges of our time.

On a personal note, I have been happily married for more than 25 years and am the proud mom of two boys, ages 17 and 19. My oldest recently headed off to Texas A&M, so I am now officially the mother of an Aggie, but I remain a very loyal Longhorn! I am an avid football mom and UT football fan, and my faith, family, and friends are at the center of my life. Having grown up in Austin, attended UT as a undergraduate and graduate student, and now spent much of my professional career here, I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to serve the University and community that have been such an important part of my life.

I am incredibly excited about what lies ahead for our School and grateful for the opportunity to serve as Director. I look forward to working with our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and advisory committee as we continue to build a School that is innovative, collaborative, and truly distinctive.