About NHS

1891

The Department of Health and Human Performance was established when the Board of Regents voted to require physical training for female students as a partial equivalent to the military drill required of male students. 

Professional preparation of physical education teachers began later in the 1890s.

1898

Rosa Bouton (1860-1951) founded the Home Economics Department at the University in 1898. Originally devised as a two-year program in Domestic Science, the program quickly expanded under her guidance. 

Housed in Mechanic Arts Hall on city campus, Dr. Bouton also served as the school's sole instructor with eleven newly enrolled students. Domestic Chemistry courses covered subjects such as food analysis, sanitation, and contaminants in food. 

As described by the University Bulletin, the two-year program was: "To train the mind and develop character in the kitchen as well as in the laboratory. Special attention is given to the principles of cooking, economical methods of cooking, as well as methods to render food nutrition, palatable, and attractive."

1905

The Nebraska Board of Regents elected to construct a new building on the Farm Campus to house laboratories and classrooms needed by the School of Domestic Science. Professor Bouton worked closely with architects Fiske and Dieman to build a specialized facility that included kitchens, living and sleeping rooms, and classrooms.

Originally started as a nutrition course in "domestic chemistry", the program soon became known as the Department of Home Economics and the course of study was expanded to a four-year college degree. 

1908

Construction of the new Home Economics Building was completed with classes beginning that summer.

Named "The Women's Building" during planning and construction, the upper levels provided dormitory rooms for up to 40 women and included laboratories and classrooms for Home Economics instruction. The main floor included a public cafeteria, as well as labs and additional instructional space. 

Initially planned by Ferdinand Fiske and Rosa Bouton as a slightly more elegant building, many high-cost details were converted to less expensive materials. Specifications for maple floors and oak finishing were converted to pine on the upper floors to keep costs down, and a copper cornice was converted to galvanized steel. 

1909

Home Economics became a department within the College of Agriculture where "...instruction is given for the practical problems of home life. Special attention is given to the artistic, economic, and sociological problems which form a legitimate part of this work.". New courses included clothing construction and design, dietetics, home decoration, household administration, and teacher training with practice teaching. 

As the department continued to grow, its course offerings expanded to include child development, education, interior decorating, and research programs. Dormitory rooms were also converted to classes, offices and laboratories. 

1925

With the University still lacking a suitable facility for basketball, commencement, dances, and other social activities, ground was broken for the new Coliseum. At a cost of $435,000, construction was completed in time for Commencement exercises to be held there in the spring of 1926. 

Along with originally housing several offices which included the Men's Athletic Department and Men's Physical Education Department, the Coliseum has also been the site of many important cultural and athletic events held on the University campus. For many years, it served as a much-needed venue for commencement exercises. Well known swing bands regularly played at dances and concerts at the Coliseum, including Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Les Brown and Harry James. The Coliseum also served as home to the national championship UNL Volleyball team until 2013.

1937

After receiving her Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of Chicago, Dr. Ruth Leverton (a 1932 University of Arizona graduate with a M.S. in Nutrition and a 1928 University of Nebraska graduate with a B.S. in Home Economics) returned to the University of Nebraska to become an assistant professor in the School of Home Economics. With her hiring, Food and Nutrition quickly began to emerge as a research-based field. During this same period, the Nebraska Agricultural Experimental Station was also seeking an innovative leader to foster human nutrition research on campus and Dr. Leverton was just the person for the job. 

Although charged with initiating human nutrition research at UNL, space was limited on the College of Agriculture campus, and she was given a small laboratory in the meat science building. While Dr. Leverton had both the necessary competencies and resources to conduct valid nutrition research work using human subjects, the development of those resources would prove to be a long struggle. Knowing her own potential, she worked tirelessly with the university and urged them to construct a building specifically to house nutrition laboratories and to accommodate vital nutrition research.

1941

Funding was approved by the Board of Regents for the establishment of a new Food and Nutrition building on Ag Campus. Upon appropriating the money, the Legislature stated: "This building was planned to house the cafeteria kitchen, club and private dining rooms, fountain room, and a comfortable lounge together with necessary offices and bathrooms."

Initial stages of the building's excavation began during the Thanksgiving break in November with active construction starting in December.

1943

The Board of Regents accepted the Food and Nutrition Building as completed on March 12, 1943. Designed to house more than just food and nutrition laboratories, the building included a cafeteria, dining rooms, a kitchen, offices, classrooms, and research facilities. This window, which was set over the main entrance and is still in place today, features the Betty Lamp, a symbol representing the field of Home Economics:

Like other war era buildings on the University's campuses, and with the nation in the midst of World War II, the Food and Nutrition Building was assumed by the government and appropriated for the war effort shortly after it was constructed. It was initially used as dormitory and classrooms for Specialized Training, Assignment, and Reclassification (STARS) members, a special training branch of the U.S. Government which channeled new military recruits to appropriate education situations. The University of Nebraska was one of only three colleges in the United States designated to assess and assign recruits on to any of 220 higher education sites.

Over the course of two years, more than 13,000 men from the United States, as well as other countries of the world, lived in the Food and Nutrition Building before being reassigned to study engineering, foreign languages, personnel psychology, dentistry, and medicine in the U.S. Army's Specialized Training Program (ASTP).

That fall, the Food and Nutrition Building saw its first "civilian personnel" as occupants moved into the third floor. This location served as the new headquarters for Dr. Leverton's research group and staff. 

1945

University Chancellor C. S. Boucher and the Board of Regents authorized the furnishing and equipment of a recreation center in the new Food and Nutrition Building. The center was slated to include a general lounge and reading room, a fountain, an all-purpose room for meeting and an annex to the fountain as a dance hall, a record room, two small committee rooms or organization offices, and check stands.

1946

Cafeteria and food laboratories became operational within the Food and Nutrition Building.

1957

Cafeteria remodeling and reorganization took place at the Food and Nutrition building in order to provide meals for students living in the new residence halls on the College of Agriculture Campus.

1968

Construction was completed on the Women's Physical Education Building at 14th and Vine and the building was dedicated that November. It featured two gyms, a swimming pool, dance studio, and locker rooms. 

1973

After 65 years, the Home Economics building was falling into disrepair, seriously damaged by termites, and no longer offering adequate work quarters.  

With Nebraska Legislature appropriating funds for a modern Home Economics building to be constructed on the same site, the decision was made to raze the original Home Economics building.

1974

Nebraska Legislature appropriated $700,000 for remodeling/renovation of the Food and Nutrition building. Updates would include offices and specialized laboratories for Teaching, Research, Extension for Human Development and the Family as well as for Food and Nutrition. Facilities would also be added for live-in subjects, dormitory space, and a kitchen/dining area.

1975

That January, the Food and Nutrition building was vacated to commence renovation work. 

1976

By fall, the newly renovated Food and Nutrition building was ready to house both Food and Nutrition faculty as well as the Human Development and Family department.

1977

With the opening of the new East Campus Union, space became available within the Food and Nutrition building to offer students laboratory experiences in institution management and quantity food preparation.

The Women's Physical Education Building at 14th and Vine Streets was renovated to add classrooms, computer labs, and offices for instructors. 

As a pioneer of physical education, particularly for women in the early part of the twentieth century, Mabel Lee spent the bulk of her professional career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She served as the director of physical education for women as well as a professor from 1924 to 1952. 

The Women's Physical Education Building was renamed in her honor on May 7, 1977. 

1978

Dr. Ruth Mandeville Leverton was a pioneering nutrition scientist whose research, writing, and international advocacy shaped both the field of nutritional science and global food policy throughout the twentieth century. 

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Home Economics from the University of Nebraska in 1928. Following graduation, she taught school for two years in rural Nebraska before relocating to Tucson to pursue graduate study in nutrition at the University of Arizona, where she received her Master's degree in 1932. She then enrolled at the University of Chicago, completing her PhD in 1937 with doctoral research focused on the iron needs of women. Upon earning her doctorate, Leverton accepted a faculty position at the University of Nebraska College of Home Economics and was simultaneously appointed to the Agriculture Experiment Station, where she continued her research on the nutritional needs of women, with particular emphasis on iron. Working initially out of the meat laboratory due to overcrowding at the Experiment Station, she advocated to University administrators for a dedicated facility, a campaign that resulted in the construction of the Food and Nutrition Building in 1941. 

During her seventeen years at Nebraska, Leverton made significant contributions to the understanding of essential amino acids in women's diets and authored the widely read text Food Becomes You, published in four editions, which she dedicated to the women of Nebraska and their families. In 1957, Leverton joined the United States Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Division, where she advanced into positions of increasing responsibility over the course of her career. A Fulbright Scholar Award brought her to the Philippines, and she subsequently traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa promoting sound nutrition practices in collaboration with UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Her expertise in the nutritional needs of developing nations proved critical to the success of the U.S. government's international food distribution programs.

Dr. Leverton was widely recognized as a leader in nutrition science and policy, admired by fellow scientists, physicians, and dietitians for her exceptional ability to communicate complex scientific findings in accessible and practical terms. Her work profoundly influenced public health guidance, supported low-income families in maintaining adequate diets, and advanced nutritional standards within schools and public institutions.

On May 6, 1978, the University of Nebraska's Food and Nutrition Building was renamed Ruth Leverton Hall in her honor. The renaming reflected a collective effort by faculty and staff members who presented a compelling proposal to the University in recognition of Dr. Leverton's outstanding contributions to the field. Dr. Leverton attended the dedication ceremony in person as part of the University's Alumni Day Program. 

She passed away on September 14, 1982 in Champaign, IL, leaving a legacy of scientific achievement and humanitarian impact that continues to shape the health and well-being of people the world over, today and for generations to come.

2010

Ruth Leverton Hall was renovated to include updated air handling systems, redesigned building space, and completion of the new Biomedical Research Core (BORC) lab.

2020

Spring demolition of Mabel Lee Hall cleared the way for Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall, the College of Education and Human Sciences' new home. 

This state-of-the-art facility features modern classrooms, collaborative meeting spaces, faculty offices, research laboratories, and a 400-seat auditorium.

2022

Dr. Carolyn Pope Edwards was a faculty member at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for eighteen years, devoted to raising the quality of young children's education through her research, teaching, and international advocacy. A leading champion of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood learning, she traveled extensively to Italy, China, and beyond to educate childcare professionals and train teachers worldwide. Her co-authored book, The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education, became a foundational reference in the field and was translated into numerous languages. Her honors included the University of Nebraska's Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Reggio Emilia Alliance. She passed away in 2018. 

In conjunction with the development of a new facility for the College of Education and Human Sciences on city campus, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved naming it Carolyn Pope Edwards Hall in her honor. Construction was completed by the end of summer, and a building dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on September 29, 2022. Among the programs taking up residence in the new facility was exercise physiology's Human Performance and Body Composition Lab, which relocated from Neihardt Hall.

2025

In June 2025, the Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management program (HRTM) relocated to their new academic space at The Scarlet Hotel on Innovation Campus. This move provided expanded facilities for the program, featuring new study spaces, classrooms, and office suites, along with a planned  commercial teaching kitchen for hands-on education.

1919

Curriculum at the University of Nebraska was changed to place more emphasis on professional training such as dietetics, institutional management, and teaching. Also included for the first time were courses intended primarily for graduate students.

1921

The Division of Food and Nutrition was established.

1962

Approval for a dietetics program was received from the American Dietetic Association.

1967

Master's degree program approved.

1969

Dietetics internship program initiated.

1975

After years of pursuing independent existences, the men's and women's physical education departments merge to form a single Department of Physical Education and Recreation.

1977

The Nebraska Center for Health Education, previously affiliated with the University Health Center, was added to the department to form a new School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.

1991

The department is renamed Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics and serves as one of three departments offered within the Human Resources and Family Sciences Program.

1993

The School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation was renamed Department of Health and Human Performance.

1997

Community Nutrition and Health Promotion established as a graduate specialization.

2003

The Department of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics and Department of Health and Human Performance are merged and renamed the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences.

2004

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletic Training Program received initial accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). (In 2006, accreditation was transferred to the newly formed Commission on the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education [CAATE]).

2005

Nutrition and Exercise approved as an undergraduate program.

2006

Hospitality, Restaurant, and Tourism Management established as an undergraduate program. 

2017

Community Health and Wellness approved as an undergraduate program.

2019

Biochemical and Molecular Nutrition established as a graduate specialization.

2020

Hospitality Management established as a graduate specialization.

2021

Professional Studies in Dietetics (PSD) established as a graduate specialization.

2023

The Master's in Athletic Training degree was established with the program being nationally accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE).

2009

National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) designates the Terry J. Housh Young Investigator Award which recognizes up-and-coming researchers in the industry.

2014

Launch of the Nebraska Center for Prevention of Obesity Diseases through Dietary Molecules (NPOD) which serves as a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) with support from the nation’s premier health research agency, the National Institute of Health. 

NPOD has proven to be a magnet for attracting top-notch researchers from Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, and Canada to Nebraska, all sharing the vision to combat obesity through by refining nutrient content in diets.

2016

Fayrene Hamouz recognized with Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nebraska Restaurant Association. 
View the article online at: https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/achievements-honors-awards-publications-for-may-6/ 

2019

Janos Zempleni is awarded the Osborne and Mendel Award by the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) for seminal discoveries in extracellular vesicles.

2020

National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) grants Terry Housh the Boyd Epley Award for Lifetime Achievement.