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The Foods & Nutrition Hall of Fame was established to honor alumni, as well as those who have made a contribution to the department. April Mason fulfills both categories. She was educated in the Overseas School of Rome (Rome, Italy) and received her B.S. from Mount Union College (Alliance, OH), before coming to Purdue to pursue an M.S. in plant physiology. Moving to the Department of Foods & Nutrition, she earned the Ph.D. in 1984 and joined this department’s faculty as an Extension Specialist in the fall of 1984 where she progressed through the ranks to full professor in 1994. In 1996, she became Associate Dean for Extension of the School of Consumer and Family Sciences, then Associate Dean for Discovery and Engagement in 2004. She left Purdue in 2004 to become Dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences at Colorado State University.
Dr. Mason’s published work reflects her combined training in plant physiology and nutrition, i.e. selenium bioavailability and weaning foods of high nutritional quality. Her current research focuses on the area of availability of key nutrients from plant-based food products, because these products provide critical calories and essential nutrients to a large proportion of the world’s population. She has mentored 30 graduate students, as major professor or as a graduate committee member.
Many of her Extension accomplishments and related publications are in food safety and food security or insecurity. While at Purdue, she developed the first audiovisual and teaching curriculum to communicate the food irradiation processing technology to consumers. Through the leadership of Dr. Mason, Purdue is known as a leader in the area of food safety and nutrition programming for not-for-profit food distribution programs. Among many other accomplishments, she was successful in funding Extension material development through extramural grants.
Dr. Mason currently serves as the Colorado State representative to NASULGC Board on Human Sciences on the Executive Committee (since 2005) and was the program chair from 2006-2008. She served as the grant panel manager for the CSREES USDA NRI Nutrition and Obesity Panel in 2005 and 2006. She also has been called upon by CSREES to serve as a reviewer.
Throughout her career she has been active in professional organizations, serving as Chair of the Indiana Section of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), President of the Indiana Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, District III and President of the Indiana Nutrition Council. At the national level she has served in many capacities for IFT, including Nutrition Division, Chair; Expert Panel on Food Safety and Nutrition; Babcock-Hart Award Jury Committee; Extension Division Executive Committee; and the Advisory Committee for the Office of Science, Government and Technology. In the American Society of Nutrition, she served as the RIS Chair for Community and Public Health and the Osborne-Mendal Award Jury Committee.
Her many awards through the years began with double honors her senior year at Mount Union, where she was selected as the Phi Sigma Outstanding Biology Senior, as well as the Outstanding Senior Woman. This precedent continues in her career. She has been honored with the Ann Hancook Award from Purdue Cooperative Extension, Distinguished Agriculture Alumni in 2005 and Distinguished Consumer and Family Science Alumni in 2006.
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