Tufts University: 175 Years of Innovation

The Friedman School was established after an announcement by Tufts President Jean Mayer in 1976. Created as a joint venture between Tufts and the United States Department of Agriculture, the first class graduated in 1981, and the school remains the only stand-alone graduate school of nutrition in the United States. Former President Mayer was a lifelong nutritionist and scholar, publishing articles, books, papers, and government and UN reports on the field of nutrition. He was instrumental in addressing hunger in the U.S. through engaged policy actions such as organizing the 1969 White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health, which led to the introduction of food stamps for underserved populations in 307 countries and an expansion of American school lunch programs.