Julie Schumacher is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Illinois State University. Dr. Schumacher received her BS in Food, Nutrition & Dietetics from South Dakota State University and her MS in Family & Consumer Sciences- Dietetic Internship and EdD in Curriculum and Instruction from Illinois State University. Julie is director of the accredited Dietetic Internship and Masters Program at Illinois State University. She supervises 20 dietetic interns and works with 25 preceptors in the Central Illinois area. Julie is Past-President of the Central Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Past-Chair of the local McLean County Wellness Coalition. Julie’s research interests include educational technology in dietetics and community wellness.
499.014Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
300.001Professional Leadership in Family and Consumer Sciences
398.001Professional Practice: Food, Nutrition and Dietetics
498.001Professional Practice:Family & Consumer Sciences Last Year
402.001Seminar In Family & Consumer Sciences:Foods And Nutrition
402.001Seminar in Family and Consumer Sciences: Dietetics
As Director of the Dietetic Internship Program, my role is to help interns meet the student learning outcomes outlined by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. I believe evidence-based research should be guiding the changes in dietetics education, and my goal is to be at the forefront of this research. The field of dietetics is behind other allied health professionals in terms of technology in education. My long-term goal is to lead dietetic educators in using evidence-based approaches in educating future registered dietitians. Work with a colleague in the Mennonite College of Nursing has led me to a research interest in preventing weight loss in elderly adults and nursing home residents. Evidenced based policies for nursing home administrators and dietitians is an area that is under researched. My research agenda includes a focus with the nutritional guidelines for preventing weight loss in nursing home residents. Through my involvement on the McLean County Wellness Coalition, I work with individuals from several facilities around the Bloomington-Normal area such as the McLean County Health Department, YMCA, YWCA, OSF St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, State Farm Insurance, and many others. Our mission is to ‘Make the healthy choice the easy choice’ in Bloomington-Normal. It is important to search for national grants supporting community wellness and have the momentum from the coalition members to implement new wellness programs and research their effectiveness.