USU Salt Lake Faculty Awarded Teachers of the Year

A pair of faculty members at Utah State University Salt Lake Center in Taylorsville recently received notable awards from the university.

Assistant professor Nikki Kendrick was honored with the 2020 Teacher of the Year Award from the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences, while Horticulture Lecturer Rachel Broadbent received the same honor from the Department of Plant, Soils & Climate. Kendrick and Broadbent’s awards also come with nominations for the 2020-21 Teacher of the Year Award from USU’s College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

"Nikki and Rachel are both dedicated to their students,” said David Vernon, associate vice president, Wasatch Region. “Nikki provides focused tutoring for students who want additional help to prepare for the exam to be a registered dietician. Rachel immerses her horticulture students using real world examples and creative project designs. I’m grateful to have both of these excellent faculty members at USU Salt Lake and congratulate them on their well-deserved nominations.”

A clinical assistant professor in dietetics, Kendrick graduated from USU in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, dietetics, and food science, and in 2014, she earned a master’s degree in dietetic administration. Kendrick also completed a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in 2010.

"It’s a great honor to be recognized for the work that I do to support the profession and its future leaders,” Kendrick said. “While I was completing my bachelor’s degree in dietetics I never imagined that I would get a master’s degree, let alone teach at a university.”

"In the past four-and-a-half years of teaching and mentoring dietetic students, I have realized a passion for helping others achieve their goals. When a student finishes a difficult rotation or graduates from the program, I feel so proud of them for persevering. I’m happy to know that I had a small part in their success.”

A Utah native, Kendrick was recognized as the Young Dietitian of the Year in 2017 by the Utah Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and has been credentialed with the Commission on Dietetic Registration since 2010 and has been a certified nutrition support clinician since 2012. A member of the USU faculty since July 2015, Kendrick previously worked as a clinical dietitian specializing in critical care and nutrition support where she managed the nutrition therapy for patients who could not advocate for themselves. In her position as a surgical intensive care unit dietitian, she also precepted dietetic interns and taught medical students the basics of nutrition in the ICU.

Kendrick currently serves as president for the Utah Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and as the reimbursement representative for the Dietitians in Nutrition Support Practice Group.

Broadbent, a horticulture lecturer and coordinator for the program, is a seventh-generation Utahn who comes from a long line of farmers and educators.

“I have a great love for plants and the impact they have in all our lives,” Broadbent said. “It was a life-long dream to teach Horticulture and Arboriculture courses. I love living that dream at USU's Salt Lake statewide campus where my goal is to ‘fan the flame’ that leads to really caring about the subject, to help my student’s knowledge and wonder about plants to grow. “

The Utah Valley native studied landscape and ornamental horticulture at Brigham Young University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 2002.

Following graduation, Broadbent spent five years in San Diego working for the Davey Resource Group in utility arboriculture, then relocated to Washington state where she continued to work for DRG and then as a utility arboriculture consultant. Broadbent worked in arboriculture for over 17 years before returning to graduate school in Urban Planning with a focus on Urban Arboriculture and Urban Agriculture.

Broadbent also served as the president of the International Society of Arboriculture, Utah Chapter and currently is the editor of ArborEssence, their quarterly newsletter.