Faculty Profile

Mindy Haar, Ph.D., RD, CDN 

Director of Program Development, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences 
Director, Clinical Nutrition

E-mail: mhaar@nyit.edu

• Phone: 516.686.3818
• Office Location: 353 K. Riland, NYCOM II Old Westbury
• Office Hours: By appointment

Mindy Haar graduated cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She earned her Master of Science degree in nutrition education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Ph.D. in health sciences from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.  She is a registered dietitian, a New York State-certified Dietitian/Nutritionist, a New York State-certified early interventionist, an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer, and an American Red Cross-certified instructor in lifeguarding, CPR, and first aid.

Dr. Haar has worked as an outpatient nutritionist in many different settings.

• She served as chief nutritionist of the New York Institute for Child Development, developing nutrition programs for hyperactive and learning-disabled children.
• At the Cleveland Clinic Hospital, she counseled outpatients upon referral by the departments of Executive Health, Sports Medicine, Urology, and Cardiology, and was a faculty member in the physician assistant training program.
• At the General Medical Center, an outpatient clinic in Hempstead, New York, she worked with a varied urban population.
• She has been a staff nutritionist in the private practice offices of Dr. Seymour Katz, a gastroenterologist, and Dr. Irene Zide, an endocrinologist.
• For the last 25 years she has conducted her own private practice in a home-based office where her clientele are primarily those seeking support for weight loss, eating disorders, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes.
• In the last five years, since receiving certification as a personal trainer, Prof. Haar has incorporated exercise prescription into her nutrition recommendations, and conducted weight-training classes for small groups.

In the community nutrition area,Dr. Haar has lectured to many neighborhood schools and groups. For eight years she was associated with both the New York Services for the Aged and the Jewish Association for Services to the Aged, providing weekly or monthly nutrition lectures at lunch programs for the elderly. Presently, as an early intervention specialist, she makes home visits to infants and toddlers assessing their nutrition status and making recommendations to their caretakers to optimize growth and development.

In the education realm, Dr. Haar developed and taught a college-level curricula for high school seniors at the Stella K. Abraham High School in Hewlett , New York, and conducted a cooking club and taught physical education at the school. On the university level, she has  taught introductory nutrition, life cycle nutrition, and personal and community health as an adjunct instructor at Brooklyn College, on the undergraduate level, and at Adelphi University, on the graduate level.

As NYIT  Director of the graduate program in Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Haar has overseen the transition from a traditional format to a totally online program and has developed five courses in an online format. She served for five years in the faculty senate with active membership in the Curriculum Committee and Admissions and Academic Standards Committee. She  continues to contribute to the NYIT Online Committee and is a faculty associate in the Center for Gerontology and Geriatrics. Her research focus is on factors affecting perception of community and interactivity in health science coursework as well as life cycle nutrition issues.