College of Health Sciences and Nursing Dean and Professor Dr. Cathy Taylor recently served on the Chronic Disease Prevention Task Force for the State of Tennessee, spearheaded by Senator Rosalind Kurita. Taylor, along with two other experts, received an invitation from the Governor’s Office, in conjunction with the commissioner of health, to act as a subject matter expert to make recommendations for improving the health of Tennesseans.

Taylor and her team, which included Belmont public health students Genevieve Delano and Deviyani Bajpai, conducted online research and interviews to make recommendations to the task force. Despite the interruption of COVID-19 on the team’s research, Taylor and her team contributed to the final recommendation to allow local authorization to limit tobacco smoking and vaping in public spaces. The recommendation was passed into legislation by the 112th General Assembly.