Support is a Community Affair
From the February 2008 issue of e-Momentum
Professor Emerita Janina M. (Czajkowski) Esselen has given a $25,000 gift to increase funding for the graduate scholarship established in her honor by friends and colleagues at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Janina M. Czajkowski Scholarship in Community Nutrition is awarded annually to a top graduate student in the Department of Nutritional Sciences who intends to enter a career providing nutritional services to the community.
Faculty and students created the scholarship in 2000 to carry on Esselen’s legacy. Esselen, who taught and served as an extension specialist from 1947 to 1983, was a nationally recognized leader in community nutrition, and was instrumental in establishing UConn’s influential program.
“While I was on the faculty, we were able to start one of the first programs in community nutrition, which was able to attract exceptional students and train them to be effective practitioners,” says Esselen. “It was a wonderful experience that I really enjoyed. We were able to have a real impact on the field of nutrition.”
Esselen took the lead in critical initiatives, such as developing materials for low-literate populations and recognizing the important role culture plays in eating habits. Esselen was involved in designing the Expanded Food and Nutrition Program (EFNEP)—a federal educational outreach program for low-income families.
Linda Drake, director of EFNEP, worked with Esselen in the 1970s, and praises her groundbreaking strategies.
“Jan was really a pioneer in community nutrition, especially working in low-income areas,” says Drake.
Esselen was inspired to add to the scholarship fund in part because of its effectiveness in attracting to UConn talented and committed graduate students, who are applying their research findings to make a difference in their communities.
“I have been impressed with the students who have been awarded the scholarship,” says Esselen.
The scholarship enabled 2006 award recipient Amber Hromi-Fiedler, Ph.D., M.P.H. ’07 to travel internationally to present her research and confer with eminent scholars, administrators and practitioners.
“It was a wonderful honor to receive the scholarship,” says Hromi-Fiedler. “My interests and work focus on domestic and international maternal and child community nutrition. I used the award to attend a nutrition epidemiology conference in Ghana, where I met with officials and professionals. I was able to learn about ongoing community-based projects throughout Africa and introduce the projects I was working on here.”
Esselen notes that she was also moved by the college’s investment in growing the academic, research and extension activities of the program.
“I was very impressed with the buildings, the facilities, and the continuing interest in community nutrition and helping families,” she says.
To support the Department of Nutritional Sciences, please contact Amy Chesmer at 860.486.1763 or aChesmer@foundation.uconn.edu.
