Mary Rita Cooke Greenwood (born April 11, 1943) is a nationally recognized leader in higher education, nutrition, and health sciences. Additionally, her research has been extensively published, internationally recognized, and has earned awards. Greenwood had served as president of the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

and chancellor of the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

. She had held leadership positions in several academic and profession societies and had served in several scientific organizations within the United States government. She currently holds an appointment as a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Nutrition and Internal Medicine at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

Early life and education

Greenwood was born in 1943 in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

. Greenwood earned the A.B. degree in biology, Summa cum laude, from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

in 1968. She received her Ph.D. in physiology, Developmental Biology, and Neurosciences from

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...

in 1973, and she completed a postdoctoral study in Human Nutrition at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1974.

Career

She is best known for her position as the associate director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (confirmed by the US Senate) during the Clinton Administration. She also served as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1999. In addition, she has been President of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO)—now the Obesity Society; and also President of the American Society of Clinical Nutrition. Formerly an adjunct professor of Public Health and Nutrition at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, she currently holds an appointment as a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Nutrition and Internal Medicine at the

. She held various positions in the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

system: as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of California Office of the President; Chancellor of

; and Dean of Graduate Studies and Vice Provost at University of California, Davis. During her time at chancellor, she oversaw the opening of the University of California system's first new residential college in 30 years. Her tenure oversaw the hiring of 250 new faculty members and academic programs were expanded by 52 percent. In 2005, the University of California found that Dr. Greenwood had violated its conflict of interest rules related to a management position created for a colleague with whom she co-owned a rental property. The university found no evidence of improper conduct in a second allegation that she influenced a position held by her son at UC Merced, concluding no pattern of impropriety or ethics violations in regard to both matters that were thoroughly investigated. The university accepted Dr. Greenwood's resignation from the position and affirmed her return to the tenured professorship she formerly held at the University of California, Davis. Greenwood became the President of the

in 2009 and was the first woman to hold the position. During her tenure, she oversaw several major projects including the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, the new

University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu The University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu (UHWO) is a public college in Kapolei, Hawaii. It is part of the University of Hawaiʻi system. It offers baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts and professional studies. UHWO opened in January 1976 an ...

campus, the

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) is a public university in Hilo, Hawaii. It is one of ten general campuses of the University of Hawaii system. It was founded as Hilo Center at Lyman Hall of the Hilo Boys School in 1945 and was a bran ...

Hawaiian Language and Culture building, the

Windward Community College Windward Community College is a public community college in Kāneohe, Hawaii. It is part of the University of Hawaii system and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Created in 1972, Windward Community ...

Learning Center, the

Maui Community College The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

Science and Technology Center, the

Kauaʻi Community College Kauai Community College is a public community college in Līhue, Hawaii and it is the only institution of higher learning on the island. It is part of the University of Hawaii system and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Commun ...

Campus Center project, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Campus Center and a new Information Technology Building. On May 6, 2013, Greenwood announced her retirement from the University of Hawaiʻi as president. She is a member of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

in the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Awards and fellowships

*New York State Regents Fellowship for Graduate Study, 1968 *Matheson Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1973-74 *NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1974 *Mellon Scholar-in-Residence, St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., 1978 *NIH Research Career Development Award, 1978-83 *American Institute of Nutrition (AIN) Award in Experimental Nutrition (BioServ Award), 1982 *Endowed Chair - John Guy Vassar Chair for Natural Sciences, 1986-89 *Doctor of Humane Letters, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, New York, 1989 *Associate Director for Science, OSTP, The Executive Office of the US president, 1993-1995 *Award of Support of Science Council of Scientific Society Presidents, 1994 *American Psychological Association, Presidential Citation, 1995 *Woman of the Year, Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, 1998 *Chairman, Board of Directors, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1999-2000 *Woman of Achievement (Education), The Women's Fund, San Jose, 2001 *Distinguished Fellow (Science and Technology), California State University, Monterey Bay, 2001 *William D Carey Lecturer, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2002 *The University of California, Santa Cruz Foundation Medal, 2004 *Member, California Council on Science and Technology, 2004 *American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow, 2005 *American Association for the Advancement of Science, Past President and Fellow, 1998-1999 & 2005 *American Society of Nutrition Fellow, 2009 *Member, Board of Governors, East-West Center, 2009- 13 *UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Award of Distinction, 2010 *Member, APEC 2011 Hawai‘i Host Committee, 2010-2011 *Honorary Doctorate Degree, University of the Ryukyus, 2011 *Woman of Distinction, Girl Scouts of Hawaii, 2011 *Wu Memorial Lecture, Columbia University Institute of Human Nutrition, 2012 *Chair, Council of Presidents, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, 2012 *Chair, Hawaii State Childhood Obesity Prevention Task Force, 2012

Publications

* * * * *

References

External links

University of California official faculty synopsisGreenwood cited in the White House Office of Science and Technology PolicyGreenwood profiled on ForbesGreenwood featured in Condé Nast PortfolioUH regents select Greenwood as new school presidentMRC Greenwood and "A Powerful Coterie of larcenous. . . ." (UH's next system President?)

Executive compensation at UC: MRC Greenwood and the $871 million dollar secret
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, M. R. C. 1943 births Living people UC Berkeley School of Public Health faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Vassar College alumni Columbia University alumni Members of the National Academy of Medicine Rockefeller University alumni University of California, Davis faculty Chancellors of the University of California, Santa Cruz Presidents of the University of Hawaii System