University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

This is one of the first comprehensive books to illustrate the complex public health issue of obesity during the transition to motherhood. I co-wrote the chapter "Obesity and Physical Activity During Pregnancy and Postpartum: Evidence, Guidelines, and Recommendations" with my colleague and friends, Drs. Kelly Evenson and Lisa Chasan-Taber, both amazing women working hard to combat the obesity epidemic in women. This book has such important professional and personal meaning to me. I wrote the chapter during a period of time when I had just received my first NIH R01 grant on managing gestational weight gain in obese pregnant women, took on an administrative role as professor in charge of the undergraduate program in the department of Kinesiology, was grieving the death of my father who had just passed away from prostate cancer, and I was caring for our newborn baby (our third child). This book will forever remind me of strength, patience, and persistence. My promotion to full professor would not have been possible without the love and support of my husband, Jon, and our three children, Michael, Brodan, and Ellorie, strength of my soul sister, Amy Frank, and the inspiration of my mentors, Drs. Nancy Williams, Linda Collins, Leann Birch, and Barbara Rolls.