Donna R. vanWestrienen
June 15, 2000
Donna R. vanWestrienen, former assistant professor of consumer resources and technology, died May 30 in Paw Paw, Mich. She was 67.
VanWestrienen retired in January 1996, after 27-1/2 years of service to the University. She graduated as one of the first two students from the University's dietetics program in 1954 and began teaching nutrition at WMU in 1968 after completing her master's degree and additional graduate study at Michigan State University.
During her WMU career, she created learning opportunities for her students through an intra-departmental effort to operate a restaurant. The restaurant became a popular spot on campus through the combined efforts of students and faculty in dietetics, food service, interior design and textiles and featured heart-healthy menus, with about 40 guests being served twice weekly.
VanWestrienen was instrumental in the development of the food service administration major within the department. She also served as an active member of the faculty advisory committee that achieved accreditation status for the department's preprofessional practice program in dietetics. This graduate program received accreditation in 1991 and includes both supervised practice and didactic opportunities in clinical nutrition, community nutrition and food service management.