SNE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORAPPOINTED

The Board ofDirectors of theSociety for Nutri­tion Education ispleased to an­nounce the ap­pointment of Dar­lene Lansing,MPH, RD as Ex­ecutive Director, effective November 1,1990.

Born and raised in North Dakota, Dar­lene received a BS in Foods and Nutri­tion from North Dakota State University,completed a dietetic internship at theBronx VA Medical Center and an MPH

FROM SNE

in Public Health Nutrition from the Uni­versity of Minnesota.

She has enjoyed a variety of challeng­ing positions in administrative and clin­ical dietetics, corporate health promo­tion, community nutrition education,collaborative nutrition intervention, andeducational program development fornutrition professionals and the public.

A respected consultant, Darlene hasserved as an advisor to the AmericanHeart Association, government and in­dustry. Her record of grants, contracts,publications and invited presentations at­tests to her expertise in administration,marketing, writing, teaching, publicspeaking, and building community part­nerships.

Darlene's unique combination of per-

sonal qualities and professional expertisewill serve the Society well as we striveto achieve the mission and goals outlinedin our strategic plan.

Under Darlene's capable leadership,the Society will be relocating to the Min­neapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota, ef­fective January 7, 1991. Gwyneth Don­chin will continue as our ManagingDirector through January, at which timeshe will be retiring from SNE.

SNE's Board of Directors looks for­ward to establishing a new SNE head­quarters in the mid-west and to the newopportunities that the relocation willbring.

Nancy Schwartz, PhD, RDPresident

FRC)M THE GUEST EDITORS

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF NUTRITIONEDUCATION FOR OLDER ADULTS

The role played by good nutrition inthe successful aging of older adults haslong been recognized; however, it is timefor nutrition issues in the gerontologicalliterature to evolve beyond their current,modest profile and to become a corner­stone in the building of strategies for im­proving the quality oflife for older adults.We applaud the editorial leadership ofthe Journal of Nutrition Education andthe leadership of the Society for Nutri­tion Education for their decision to de­vote a special issue ofJNE to Improvingthe Quality of Nutrition Education forOlder Adults.

The Call for Papers for the special issueasked for articles that described the mul­tiple influences acting on the eating be­haviors of older adults, as well as articlesthat described the development andevaluation of innovative nutrition edu­cation programs. In an initial discussionamong the guest editors, the quality ofthe nutrition education being offered sur­faced as a major concern, cutting acrossall the content areas. And, indeed, theneed for improving the quality of nutri­tion education was also an important con­clusion drawn by the authors of the dif-

ferent projects reported on in this specialissue.

The component themes of the issuewere identified as:1) Programs for Older Adults in Nutri­

tion and Health Education,2) Influences on the Eating Habits of

Older Adults, and3) Development and Evaluation of In­

novative Nutrition and Health Edu­cation Programs.

The areas of concern common to thesethree main themes were cultural diver­sity, multiple settings, behavioral con­siderations, multidisciplinary program­ming, health promotion, fragmentationin agencies serving the population, andthe need for policy and program reform.The need for careful screening and as­sessment as part of the foundation forestablishing a successful program was alsoemphasized.

Weick defined a small win as "a con­crete, complete, implemented outcumeof moderate impurtance"; adding that"small wins are controllable opportuni­ties that produce visible results ... theypreserve gains, they cannot unravel andthey heighten interest in attempting a

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second win" (1). The series of victories,large and small, represented by the workpresented in this special issue will ensurecontinued positive outcomes in qualitynutrition education programs for the olderadult. The body ofliterature dealing withthe concerns of older adults has been en­riched by the work of the nutrition ed­lIcators, scientists, academicians and cli­nicians who have participated in theproduction of this special issue ofJNE.

In addition to the many people whohave been involved in the creation of thisspecial issue, the Editors would like todedicate this work to our parents and ourgrandparents, both biological and in ourextended families.

Polly A. FitzCarol Lammi-Keefe, Ph.D.Guest Co-EditorsJean Ann Anliker, Ph.D.Ann Ferris, Ph.D.Associate Guest EditorsUniversity of ConnecticutStorrs, Connecticut

Weick, K. E. Small wins: Rectifying the scaleof social problems. American Psychologist39(1):40-49, 1984.