May 27, 2025 | Carson Hardee

Rudd Center Celebrates 10th Anniversary at UConn

The Center investigates strategies to address food insecurity, poor nutrition, and weight bias through research and policy

The Center investigates strategies to address food insecurity, poor nutrition, and weight bias through research and policy ()

In the fall of 2014, researchers, advocates, and community members gathered in the garden at an East Hartford elementary school for an exciting announcement from President Susan Herbst: The Rudd Center was moving to UConn.  

Founded in 2005 by Kelly Brownell, the Rudd Center enjoyed 10 successful years at Yale University before officially joining UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) in 2015. Now, as it celebrates its 10th anniversary at UConn, members of the Rudd Center team are reflecting on the past decade and looking forward to what comes next for the Center. 

A woman in a suit speaking at a podium with the UConn logo while children explore a garden in the background
Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center, speaks at an event announcing the move of the Rudd Center to UConn. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

“UConn’s commitment to multidisciplinary research has made it the perfect home for the Rudd Center,” says Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center and a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. “Connecting with research partners across the University has been a crucial part of our work for the past 10 years, and we look forward to continuing to foster these collaborations.” 

At the heart of the Rudd Center’s mission is the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to eat healthfully. While the Center’s areas of research have evolved over the years, its work centers around five core domains:  

  • Charitable food system research led by Caitlin Caspi from the Department of Allied Health Sciences, Maria Gombi-Vaca, and Schwartz
  • Economics of food assistance programs and fiscal policy research led by Tatiana Andreyeva from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
  • Food marketing research led by Fran Fleming-Milici
  • Healthy school environments (including school meals) research led by Schwartz
  • Weight bias research led by Rebecca Puhl from the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences

“To help further our mission, we focus on translating research into action,” says Puhl, deputy director of the Rudd Center. “This ranges from testifying about legislation at the state and federal levels, sharing our research findings with the media, and creating evidence-based resources to help diverse audiences.” 

Among the popular tools developed by the Rudd Center are an online assessment to help school districts around the country assess their wellness policies and practices, a training course to help clinicians reduce weight stigma in health care, a cultural food guide to help the charitable food system meet the needs of their neighbors, an image gallery to help content creators find respectful imagery of people in larger bodies, and a calculator to help policymakers assess the potential impact of sugary drink taxes.  

“As we look back on the past 10 years, I’m so grateful that the Rudd Center has been given the opportunity to grow and thrive at UConn,” says Schwartz. “The many researchers, staff, students, and affiliates who have been a part of our journey are what makes the Rudd Center so special.” 

For more information about the Rudd Center’s work, visit its website, subscribe to its monthly newsletter, and connect with the Center on LinkedIn and Bluesky.