Identifier

UA 24

Dates

1904-2008

Extent

8.81 linear feet (12 boxes) photographs, sound recordings, moving image materials, electronic records, realia

Abstract

The E.A. Martin Program in Human Nutrition advances nutrition knowledge through research and educational programs. This collection is composed mainly of records pertaining to the development of the Ethel Austin Martin Program in Human Nutrition. Included are records related to the Endowed Chair, the Distinguished Lecturer and Visiting Professorship in Human Nutrition and collected publications related to nutrition. Also included are the Ethel Austin Martin Papers which are comp composed of articles and books by Ethel Austin Martin, transcripts, correspondence, ephemera, awards, and photographs.

Historical Note

Dr. Ethel Austin Martin graduated from SDSU in 1916 and went on to do graduate work at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. She taught at several institutions before joining the National Dairy Council in 1929, where she served as Director of Nutrition Services until her retirement. Dr. Martin was a distinguished nutritionist who was instrumental in developing research grant programs, instituting nutrition conferences, founding journals, and writing several nutrition textbooks.

Before her death in 1993 at age 100, she established an endowment at South Dakota State University with the ultimate objective of providing for a permanent professorship to ensure continuing high-level instruction in the science of nutrition. Dr. Martin's goal was realized in 1997, when the Ethel Austin Martin Chair in Human Nutrition was established and subsequently filled by Dr. Bonny Specker.

The purpose of the Ethel Austin Martin Program in Human Nutrition is to advance knowledge in the science of human nutrition through a multidisciplinary approach, to encourage practical applications in improving human health, and to offer professional enrichment in nutrition for all students, faculty and staff at SDSU. The advancement of knowledge in the science of human nutrition is takes place through both research and educational programs using a multidisciplinary approach.

The E.A. Martin Program advances nutrition knowledge with these campus activities:

  • Active research projects both within the program, as well as collaborative efforts with other investigators from SDSU and the region.
  • Financial support for pilot projects is provided to faculty at SDSU who propose collaborative nutrition projects that utilize a multidisciplinary approach.
  • Educational programs such as formal courses, as well as support for invited seminar speakers. The annual E.A. Martin Distinguished Lecture in Human Nutrition has been a long standing tradition at SDSU, bringing in world-renowned speakers in the field of human nutrition.

Ethel Austin Martin

Ethel Austin was born July 14, 1893, in Storm Lake, Iowa to George and Evaline Austin. Her family moved to Brookings, South Dakota in 1902. She attended grade school and high school in Brookings. She graduated from South Dakota State College in Brookings in 1916. She received a second bachelor's degree (1919) and a master's degree from Columbia University in New York (1923). In 1955, she received an honorary doctor of science degree from South Dakota State College.

After graduation from South Dakota State College in 1916 Ethel taught high school at Faulkton, South Dakota from 1916 to 1918. Over a period of years, she taught home economics and nutrition at Texas State College, the University of Illinois, Urbana (1923-1924), the University of Chicago (1925-1929), and was Visiting Associate Professor at Northwestern University (1957-1959). From 1929 until 1951, she was the director of nutrition services for the National Dairy Council, where she had the opportunity to start the organization's research program and initiate nutrition education publications. After her retirement, she turned to writing. In addition to numerous technical publications, she authored three university-level textbooks in nutrition including a revision of "Robert's Nutrition Work with Children," "Nutrition in Action," and "Nutrition Education in Action."

She was one of ten U.S. delegates appointed by the State Department to the 11th International Dairy Congress in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1949. She was the only woman delegate to the entire Congress. She was appointed to the USDA's Food and Nutrition Advisory Committee between 1950 and 1960.

She served as president and board member for the Chicago Nutrition Association and she was a member of the Advisory Committee to the Nutrition section of the Chicago Board of Health. She was awarded the title Fellow of the Society for Nutrition Education on her 99th birthday.

During of her life, Martin devoted herself to planning, guiding and consulting on the Ethel Austin Margin Chair of Human Nutrition at South Dakota State University. In preparation for the chair professorship, she and her husband established an endowment fund to support an ongoing program of visiting professorships and distinguished lectureships in human nutrition. Her vision was to generate an understanding of the importance of nutrition to all pertinent disciplines of the university.

She married Dr. Edward Moss Martin in 1924. Dr. Martin was a former director of public affairs for the Union League Club of Chicago and led efforts to promote civic and judicial reform in Illinois. Edward Martin died in 1985. Ethel Austin Martin died, Saturday, September 11, 1993 in Chicago, Illinois.

Content Notes

This collection is composed mainly of records pertaining to the development of the Ethel Austin Martin Program in Human Nutrition. Included are records related to the Endowed Chair, the Distinguished Lecturer and Visiting Professorship in Human Nutrition and collected publications related to nutrition. Also included are the Ethel Austin Martin Papers which are composed of articles and books by Ethel Austin Martin, transcripts, correspondence, ephemera, awards, and photographs.

SDSU Archives and Special Collections

Follow this link for more information:

https://www.sdstate.edu/sdsu-archives-and-special-collections/university-archives

Language

English

Publisher

South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.

Rights

Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different materials. Many of the documents and other historical materials in the Archives are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way. There are other materials in the Archive carrying a copyright interest and must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted material.

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