‘Always willing to help’

Following 28 years of service to Auburn University, longtime professor and researcher in the College of Human Sciences Department of Nutritional Sciences Dr. Doug White took the time to reflect on a career where he impacted the lives of many colleagues he worked with while several students shared fond memories they had being in his classroom.

White began his time at Auburn in 1996 where he served in a variety of roles that included serving as department head for about five years under former College of Human Sciences Dean June Henton. Now with plans to retire at the end of the 2024 fall semester as an associate professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, White is reflecting on his near three-decade Auburn career.

“It’s kind of neat to go back and you’re thinking about 28 years’ worth of stuff,” said White. “It’s good to reflect every now and then and this is a good time to do it.”

White’s positive influence has shone in the classroom teaching courses such as Nutritional Biochemistry, Vitamins and Minerals, Nutrition in the Life Cycle and more.

One of White’s students is Hallie Ousley, a senior majoring in nutrition/dietetics, who said his constant encouragement stands out the most.

“The main thing that has stuck to me about Dr. White is his kindness and encouragement within the classroom,” said Ousley. “He is always complimenting us on our achievements and encouraging us throughout some difficult courses and semesters. I always feel comfortable and at ease when I am in his classes. This same feeling is shared amongst the entire senior cohort as we have all discussed our appreciation of Dr. White.”

As Ousley pointed out, many of the courses taught by White can be difficult material to digest and learn, but despite this, White goes out of the way to help his students better understand and succeed.

Lexi Marks, another senior majoring in nutrition/dietetics, said he went above and beyond to assist his students.

“Dr. White was an extraordinary mentor to me, particularly given my unique circumstances,” nutrition science, dietetics and wellness 2024 alumna Denise Cannon added. “As a mother of three and a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve, I balanced a complex and often demanding schedule. Despite these challenges, Dr. White consistently made himself available, accommodating my specific needs and adapting his teaching and course structure to support my success. His flexibility and empathy made it possible for me to fulfill my lifelong ambition of being the first college graduate in my family, an accomplishment that will always hold profound personal significance.”

In addition to teaching, White conducted physiological research work in the area of obesity and the control of food intake really piqued his interest while working with a hormone called leptin that he continually worked with and experimented with throughout his career.

“I kind of stuck with that hormone, and what we had discovered was, if we inject that hormone into the brains of diabetic rats, their blood glucose levels come back to normal which is kind of an interesting thing,” said White. “Originally, we thought it made them more sensitive to insulin, but we later discovered that wasn't the case, and it probably inhibits some of the counter regulatory hormones like glucagon and epinephrine, which prevents blood glucose from going up. We thought this may be a way they could normalize their blood glucose without having to increase insulin levels, so we've been kind of playing with that theme probably almost since I got here.”

As for White, one of his personal accomplishments was seeing the success of his students but he also appreciated all his colleagues support over the years.

“Really, all of my colleagues have been special to me and just anybody in the past I think I’ve taken things away from them and used them in my career,” said White. “I didn’t start off in nutrition, but I remember Sareen Gropper who wrote a big seminal book on nutrition that really most of the nutrition departments in the country use, so I relied on her on learning the information that I hadn’t had prior to that. But really, anybody that I had worked with meant a great deal to me and helping me get to where I eventually became.”

As for what’s next and his plans moving forward in retirement, White gave an appropriate answer that many retirees can relate to.

“I used to say, ‘I don’t really know yet’ when people asked me what I’ll do when I retire but now, I’ve changed my tune and my answer is ‘whatever I want’ so I think that’s a good answer,” White said with a laugh. “I’ve got grandkids right outside of Knoxville so it doesn't take long to get to them but then my wife and I would like to travel. We did a cruise to Alaska a few years ago, and we’d like to do that some more. Then all the little odd jobs around the house I neglected I now have time to do those things.”