TWU Health Sciences Center, courtesy of TWU
On Thursday, February 12, Texas Woman’s University (TWU) will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of its new Health Sciences Center at the Denton campus. The 136,000-square-foot complex debuts in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of the nation’s largest woman-focused university, and was made possible by $100 million in state funding and individual donations. Comprising classrooms, simulation labs, therapy spaces, and the Dawn S. Chaney West Commons, this new facility will also showcase the Neva Hudiburgh Cochran Wellness Kitchen.
Neva Cochran, MS, RDN, LD, FAND
Cochran is a TWU alumna and longtime resident of Preston Hollow. She earned her Master of Science in Nutrition degree from TWU in 1978, and began her career in clinical settings including Westgate Hospital in Denton, now Medical City Denton, and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. She later served as program coordinator for the Associated Milk Producers Consumer Services Division, as well as on the faculty of the TWU Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences. In 1989, Cochran launched her Dallas-based consultancy, Eating Beyond the Headlines, focused on science-based food and nutrition communications.
If her name sounds familiar, perhaps you’ve seen or read one of Cochran’s hundreds of newspaper, magazine, radio, and television interviews about nutrition. In addition to collaborating with dozens of leading brands and organizations, she is also the recipient of numerous professional awards, including the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Distinguished Dietitian, Media Excellence, and Outstanding Preceptor awards, and the University of Oklahoma’s Regents Alumni Award. In short, this launch represents a culmination of 50 years of professional dedication on the part of our accomplished neighbor.
“When I toured the center, I was very impressed,” says Cochran of her first look at the project last year. “I had an opportunity to make a donation and set up strategic applications of the funds to help students to learn and move forward in their careers.”
Neva Cochran, courtesy of TWU
With her name on this new interactive kitchen classroom, Cochran is attuned to each of its innovative features and uses. She notes state-of-the-art equipment, interactive workstations, and demonstration areas. In addition, guest experts will host culinary nutrition classes for students who, in turn, will host classes for members of the community. Perhaps Cochran’s favorite element, however, is the ability for students across many health-related majors to collaborate while learning.
“This wellness kitchen will heighten the experiences of not only the nutrition and dietetic students, but additional students within the Health Sciences,” she says. “For example, physical therapists can work together with registered dietitians on food-related plans for individuals who are recovering from illness and injury. There’s so much cross-pollination of these different disciplines.”
Looking ahead, Cochran sees a bright future for the students who will take advantage of this new facility at TWU, and for her profession as a whole. “I absolutely love the idea that we are learning so much more every day about the role that nutrition plays in our lives,” she says. “It’s wonderful to me that this field is growing and changing as fast as it is right now.”
To learn more, visit twu.edu/college-health-sciences.
Lisa Petty’s career has spanned print, digital, and broadcast journalism, editorial leadership, and brand marketing. She has served at industry-leading companies, including MCI USA, ACTIVE Network, and Mary Kay. Her fashion and lifestyle reporting has been featured by regional and national media outlets from the Dallas Morning News to NBC Universal and The New York Times, and she was recognized with a Distinguished Achievement Award by Wade College in 2019.
