Award-Winning Medical Journalist, Ohio Wesleyan Graduate Jean Carper to be Honored by Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
Jean Carper ’53
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University alumna Jean Carper, Class of 1953, will be inducted in April into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) Hall of Excellence.
Carper is the New York Times best-selling author of 24 books on health and nutrition, and the ninth Ohio Wesleyan graduate to be inducted into the Hall of Excellence since it was created in 1987 to honor outstanding alumni from OFIC-member colleges.
Her books include “Stop Aging Now!”, “Food: Your Miracle Medicine,” and “100 Simple Things You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer’s.” A resident of Key West, Fla., Carper currently is producing a documentary on the predicted world epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, titled “Monster in the Mind,” to be released next year.
Previously, Carper was a senior medical correspondent for CNN, earning the cable industry’s prestigious ACE award for a series on brain cancer. She has written more than 200 articles for national publications, including The Washington Post and Reader’s Digest. For 14 years, she wrote a nutrition and health column called “Eat Smart” for USA Weekend Magazine, with a circulation of 600 newspapers and nearly 50 million readers each week. She also has appeared on numerous television programs including “Today,” Good Morning America,” and “Dateline,” and she writes occasionally for The Huffington Post.
Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones, Ph.D., said Carper is a perfect choice to receive the prestigious OFIC honor.
“In Jean I have found the best qualities of the liberally educated citizen,” Jones said, “including unbounded curiosity and a desire for new knowledge, care in research, precision in speaking and writing, and the ability to synthesize information from a variety of disciplines. Although she has been highly successful personally, her focus always has been on improving health for all. She has the heart of a true humanitarian.”
While a student at Ohio Wesleyan, Carper majored in speech and was a member of a state-championship-winning debate team. In 1999, she was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Citation from the university in recognition of her work as a “major force in enlightening the public about the latest scientific discoveries involving diet, food, and vitamins as causes and cures of our modern epidemic of chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer.”
Ohio Wesleyan graduates previously inducted into the OFIC Hall of Excellence are:
Evan R. Corns, Class of 1959, co-founder and retired CEO of America’s Body Co., inducted in 2010. David L. Hobson, Class of 1958, retired member of the U.S. House of Representatives, inducted in 2005. George H. Conrades, Class of 1961, chairman of Akamai Technologies, inducted in 2001. Robert W. Gillespie, Class of 1966, chairman emeritus of KeyCorp, inducted in 1997. F. Sherwood Rowland, Ph.D., Class of 1948, Nobel Prize-winning research chemist, inducted in 1996. David Hamilton Smith, M.D., Class of 1953, physician, researcher, and author, inducted in 1995. Frank N. Stanton, Ph.D., Class of 1930, former president of CBS, inducted in 1991. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Class of 1920, pastor and author of the “Power of Positive Thinking,” inducted in 1989.Carper will be inducted into the Hall of Excellence during a special “Evening of Excellence” April 16 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel. Learn more about her at www.jeancarper.com.
About the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges was founded in 1950 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization representing higher education throughout the state of Ohio. Today, OFIC has 34 member institutions, including Ohio Wesleyan, representing nearly 100,000 students. Learn more about the Foundation and its Hall of Excellence at www.ofic.org.
About Ohio Wesleyan University
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private, coed university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world practice. OWU’s 1,850 students represent 42 states and 37 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.