Erin McKinley, 2025 C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award recipient
June 02, 2025
For Dr. Erin McKinley, helping students succeed in dietetics means more than teaching facts—it means helping them learn how to communicate with confidence and professionalism. As an Associate Professor and Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at LSU, Erin has created a clear path for students to grow as communicators and stand out in their careers.
Since 2019, she has taught Communication-Intensive (C-I) courses like Professionalism in Dietetics and Community Nutrition, where students don’t just study nutrition—they learn how to present their ideas, give and receive feedback, and develop strong written and spoken communication. She even created a peer review tool called the “G.E.A.U.X Write Form,” which her students continue to use to strengthen their writing and critical thinking skills.
Erin also built a direct path for dietetics students to earn the LSU CxC Communicator Certificate, giving them a competitive edge. As Dr. Georgianna Tuuri, Chair of the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, explains: “Her creation of the direct pathway to the LSU CxC Communicator Certificate has put the LSU Dietetics program ahead of our competitors and increased the success of our students in earning placements in graduate programs and dietetic internships.”
Erin’s impact is measurable. From 2020 to 2024, every single student who completed her preparation course and applied to a graduate or supervised practice program in dietetics was accepted. As she notes in her research, “Among all graduates from the classes of 2020 to 2024, 100% (n=119) who took the preparation course and applied were successfully admitted to a graduate program and/or supervised practice program for dietetics.”
Her efforts have been recognized nationally. In 2022, she received the Outstanding Dietetics Educator Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and was named a High-Impact Author by the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. As the first CxC Faculty Fellow from the College of Agriculture, Erin has not only elevated her own teaching, but created a model for others to follow.
Erin’s students leave her classes more confident, more capable, and more prepared to lead in the fields of nutrition and food sciences—a testament to her belief that strong communication is essential for strong careers.
About the C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award
The C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award (formerly the Outstanding CxC Faculty Award) recognizes an individual who, through teaching, research, faculty teaching development, or CxC program efforts, engages and champions C-I pedagogy across campus in an exemplary manner. Any LSU faculty member—tenured, tenure-track, or non-tenure track, full or part-time—actively engaged in the CxC program and C-I teaching and learning, and who has not previously received this award, is eligible. Recipients receive a $1,500 award.