Shugart Lecture Series

The annual Shugart Lecture Series brings dietitians and food service and hospitality experts to Kansas State University for the enrichment of student curricula and to provide continuing education for practitioners in the field.

Established in 1975, the lecture series honors the late Grace M. Shugart, former department head in the College of Health and Human Sciences and co-author of Food for Fifty and Food Service in Institutions.

Shugart helped build the profession of dietetics and institutional management throughout the United States, serving as president of the American Dietetic Association. She also was a Medallion Award winner and received the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' highest honor.

2025 Shugart Lecturer:

Carol Ireton-Jones, PhD, RDN, LD, CNSC, FAND, FASPEN

"My Art Teacher Was Right!: How Nutrition Became My Career and Passion"

Thursday, April 3, 2025

Dr. Carol Ireton-Jones received her PhD and Master’s degree in Nutrition from Texas Woman’s University. Her undergraduate degree in Nutrition and Dietetics came from Texas Tech University where she also received her clinical training. She developed The Ireton-Jones equations for estimating energy requirements in hospitalized patients and these are widely used nationally and internationally.

Dr. Ireton-Jones provides out-patient nutrition care for people with GI disorders including IBS, gastroparesis and IBD, as well as those who require home parenteral and enteral nutrition. She continues to measure metabolic rate as an important part of determining individual energy expenditure in many diverse types of people. She has lectured extensively nationally and internationally on a variety of nutrition topics and has over 175 peer reviewed papers and abstracts and 34 book chapters.

Recent honors and awards include the 2022 Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurial Practice from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the 2023 Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award from Texas Woman’s University. She recently completed the second edition of Outpatient Nutrition are: GI, Metabolic, and Home Nutrition Support in November 2023 from CRC Press and available on Amazon.com.

Balancing both evidence-based nutrition with sensible and practical applications is her strong point!