Rate My Professor Nina Roofe

Nina Roofe serves as Assistant Vice President for Family and Consumer Sciences with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service, a role she assumed on September 25, 2023. In this capacity, she oversees research-based extension programs addressing food and nutrition, food safety and preservation, health and exercise, personal finance, home safety, early childhood, and mental health, ensuring they meet the needs of Arkansans through a holistic approach. Holding credentials as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), Licensed Dietitian (LD), Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (FAND), and Certified Nutrition and Wellness Educator (CNWE), Dr. Roofe earned her Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Sciences Education from Iowa State University in 2010, Master of Science in Corporate Health Promotion from the University of Arkansas in 1998, completed her dietetic internship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 1991, and Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of Central Arkansas in 1990. Previously, she was Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Family Sciences at the University of Central Arkansas from 2016, having taught there since 2002, and held clinical positions including Clinical Manager at Northwest Medical Center (1994–1997) and Clinical Dietitian at White River Medical Center (1991–1994).

Dr. Roofe’s research specializations encompass nutrition education interventions, service-learning in dietetics and family and consumer sciences, interprofessional education, mentoring, leadership, and childhood obesity prevention. Notable publications include “Cultivating the desire to mentor in dietetic interns” with A. Landry (Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2018), “Professional behavior education in the FCS curriculum” with P. Towery, M. Schrock, and A. Landry (Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences, 2019), and “Service-learning in higher education: Focus on eating disorder prevention” with J. Brinegar and G. Seymour (Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences, 2015). Among her major honors are Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2013), Outstanding Dietetics Educator Award from the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Area 3 (2013), and Outstanding Dietetics Educator Award from the Arkansas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2013). She exerts significant influence through leadership roles such as Speaker of the House of Delegates for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2024–2025), past President of the Council of Administrators in Family and Consumer Sciences (2022–2023), former Chair of the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics Program Accreditation Committee (2021–2022), and Ethics Committee member (2020–2023).