Faculty Bio

Christopher L. Fink

Professor in the Department of Health & Human Kinetics; Public Health Program Co-Director

Education

• B.S., Lake Superior State University
• M.S., Indiana University-Bloomington
• Ph.D., The Ohio State University

About

Fink began his career at Ohio Wesleyan in 2007, where he focuses his teaching in the areas of health behavior and health promotion, food studies, and qualitative inquiry. He has also served as department chair of the Health & Human Kinetics department since 2010 and enjoys working with faculty and staff across disciplines on curricular work, projects, and program development.

In recent years, he has focused primarily on dietary health, and issues related to dietary decisions and the food system as a whole, including food insecurity. His research is primarily qualitative, exploring community food insecurity and chronic disease; food education, culture, and tradition; and the role of community in dietary health and quality of life. He has been working extensively in Italy, with a particular interest in the relationship between Mediterranean culture and lifestyle (specifically Italian) and dietary / movement behavior choices. He is currently exploring the community-building and heritagization aspects of the Italian sagra, and is a co-orgainzer for the Perugia Food and Sustainability conference held at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy every two years. He also teaches a summer course at the Umbra Institute titled Italy and the Mediterranean Diet: Myths and Realities.

He currently directs a cooking, food, and nutrition-education program in Delaware County (OH), focused on reducing food insecurity that is a collaboration with Columbus-based Local Matters, the United Way of Delaware County, the Delaware County Hunger Alliance, and Share Our Strength. He is involved in project work examining the interplay between traditional knowledge regarding food, food system design, and health promotion, as well as the dietary and movement-related experiences associated with cancer survivorship, and gaps in survivorship support in these areas.

Fink holds professional memberships in the Association for the Study of Food and Society and the American College of Sports Medicine, and is a proud member of Slow Food. He is a co-chair for the Partnership for a Healthy Delaware County, and is a National Governing Board Member for the Nutritional Needs of Cancer Survivors (NNOCS) project that is part of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) at Tufts University.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)