About Pat

Pat Terry, PhD, Registered/Licensed Dietitian, Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Pat was a professor of nutrition and dietetics at Samford University for 30 years.  She served as director of the undergraduate Didactic Program in Dietetics for twenty-five years and twice as department chair.  She was the director of the two Samford Food Production Labs and creator of The Samford Wellness Kitchen, a community teaching kitchen. Pat’s research was food-focused, especially in the area of food science and experimental foods.  While at Samford, Pat was named an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Outstanding Educator as well as a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  For twenty years she taught study abroad food and culture classes in London and Costa Rica.

Pat also wrote a weekly foods column titled “In Season” for the Birmingham News for eighteen years.

Prior to Samford, Pat was the first non-clinical dietitian appointed by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to serve overseas.  She was a missionary and community nutritionist in Venezuela for twelve years.  She wrote her book, Made for Paradise: God’s Original Plan for Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Rest (2007) as a result of seeing the benefits of healthy eating and living during her time in Latin America.

Pat is a native of Birmingham, earning BS and MS degrees at The University of Alabama and a PhD in Nutrition Sciences from Texas Woman’s University. She completed her dietetic internship at Baylor University Medical Center.

In retirement, Pat is active in the dietetic profession as well as consulting in culinary nutrition and teaching kitchens through The Wellness Kitchen, LLC.  She is a charter member of the Birmingham Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier – an international philanthropic organization of women leaders in the fields of food, beverage and hospitality.

Pat is a wife, mother, grandmother and daughter who, when not cooking, writing, traveling or playing golf, is happily busy with her family.