Penn State Scholar alumna Jill Jayne will present "Debunk the Junk: Why You Are What You Eat" for the Schreyer Honors College's 16th annual Mark Luchinksy Memorial Lecture. The free lecture is being held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, at the State Theatre, 130 W. College Ave., State College, Pa.
Jayne, a registered dietitian who graduated from the College of Health and Human Development, is a self-proclaimed "rock star nutritionist." In bringing together her graduate degree in nutrition from Columbia University, her experience on stage and in broadcast media, her interest in music, and her work in the classroom as a New York CIty public school teacher, Jayne has developed high-energy, informative programs for preschoolers, elementary school students, and teens. The programs teach health eating habits, the nutritional impact of different foods, and how to be aware of how foods, particularly sugary treats and snacks, are being marketed.
This is Jayne's second appearance at Penn State and in the State College area within six months. In November, Jayne presented at the Penn State Forum, the University's lunchtime speaker series modeled after the National Press Club, and appeared at local schools during her visit.
Past Luchinksy lecturers have included Scholar alumni Marybeth Long, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense; David C. Han, associate professor of surgery and radiology at the Penn State College of Medicine and vascular surgeon at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center; Meena Bose, Peter S. Kalikow chair in presidential studies at Hofstra University; and Peter Klein, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, "60 Minutes" producer and associate professor in the University of British Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. The Luchinsky Memorial Lecture Series was endowed in the Schreyer Honors College in memory of Mark Luchinsky, a University Scholar majoring in biochemistry, who died in 1995 at the age of 20. The annual lecture honors his memory through speakers who exemplify intellectual honesty, personal integrity, and joy of learning.
The lecture is open to the public. For more information, visit shc.psu.edu/events/luchinsky