CEHD Honors and Awards
FSoS recipients for 2008
On April 24 at Coffman Union we celebrated the wonderful work of our faculty, staff, and students.
Photos of the event

Educational Leadership Award - Hal Grotevant
Hal Grotevant’s colleagues at the national level comment that his groundbreaking work on family relationships during adolescence was “instrumental in revolutionizing how we view adolescents’ relationships with parents.”

Distinguished Teaching - Cynthia Meyer
Cynthia Meyer nomination materials reflected her consistently outstanding teaching evaluations for the past 15 years, the fact that she teaches an unusually broad range of courses, and her uncommon availability to students. Above and beyond this her pioneering national role in developing a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Family course merited special distinction.

Multicultural Recognition Award - Catherine Solheim
Catherine Solheim personifies a multicultural perspective in the deepest and broadest sense through her mentoring and leadership with students, her community-based engagement research, her grasp of immigrant and refugee family issues, her strong record of scholarship for international students, and her impressive record of institutional and community service.

New Career Excellence - Abigail Gewirtz
Abigail Gewirtz’s intervention research is conducted with and within the community, and is both cutting edge and relevant for families and children. She embodies the College of Education and Human Development’s M3 mission and her collaborative work bridges successfully across multiple units in the College.

Outstanding Student - Sara Lassig
Sara Lassig, Ph.D. student provides leadership within her cohort, served on departmental and national committees dedicated to family relations, and is chairing a 2009 conference entitled, “The Intersection of Families, Health, and Healthcare.”

Excellence in Academic Advising - Jean Bauer
Jean W. Bauer stood apart from a strong set of nominees because of the scope and depth of her advising activities. The Committee noted her ability to consistently extend her “personal touch” beyond her own circle of advisees; and, as Director of Graduate Studies, the substantial impact she has made in the recruitment and professional socialization of international and underrepresented students.

New Online Course for Parents
binge drinking risks during the college years

The University of Minnesota has developed an online course for parents that addresses the risks associated with binge drinking during the college years. It provides statistics, tips for talking about alcohol, comments from parents and college students, online discussion opportunities, and a list of available resources.

Studies show that while parents cannot monitor their students' actions daily, they do continue to influence the way students conduct themselves during the college years. Students who perceive that their parents know what they are doing are less likely to engage in behaviors they know their parents disapprove of.

Who: Any parent of a college student or soon-to-be college student.

Why: Even if your student does not drink, he/she will be interacting with students who do, and will have to make decisions about drinking. Although you probably have been talking with your student about alcohol, the college environment related to alcohol is different, and the messages that you have been giving need to be adjusted to meet the needs and questions of a college-aged student.

What: An online course you can take at your own convenience, resources you can use when you need them, and a connection to a virtual community of other parents.

But I’ve never taken an online course: When you first enter the course, click on the “Course Introduction” icon. From there, click on “Getting Started.” We’ve provided a series of instructions for moving through the course.

How much: $20 for a limited time.

To get started, visit: http://projects.cehd.umn.edu/parentseminar/onlinePortal/

College of Education and Human Development Faculty and Staff Research Program

The College of Education and Human Development, Office of Research and Policy will provide funds on a competitive basis to support faculty and staff research efforts. Grants of up to $5,000 will be available. Five awards will be made this spring.

The purpose of the faculty and staff research program is to support faculty and professional and academic staff research by providing additional resources that are not available from other sources such as internal or external grants and contracts.  For faculty, these funds can help to support research activities over the summer months. Highest priority will be given to those applications where funding does not duplicate funding available from other sources. Applications from faculty and staff new to the University within the past five years and those that involve collaborative neighborhood and block work are also given priority.

The proposed project should be limited enough in scope to be accomplished in a relatively short period of time (2-3 months, typically).  Ideal activities include preparation of proposals for external funding, instrument development, piloting or field testing, data analysis, and preparation of journal articles.

The deadline for proposals is April 30, 2008. Final decisions will be made by May 9, 2008. For more information cantact:
Laura Hagen
ATTN: Faculty and Staff Research Program
College of Education and Human Development
Office of Research and Policy
Room 104 Burton Hall

The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), the oldest, multi-disciplinary non-partisan professional organization focused solely on family research, practice and education, has elected:

B. Jan McCulloch, Department Head of FSoS, has been named Chair of the NCFR Family and Health Section.The mission of the Family and Health Section is to promote the health of diverse families and their members through interdisciplinary activities that facilitate excellence in family health practice, research, education, and policy development.

Jodi Dworkin, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, has been elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Education and Enrichment Section. Education and Enrichment section shares information on effective family life education, teaching materials and methods, and marriage enrichment interests. Focus Groups include Marriage and Family Enrichment, Certified Family Life Educators, Sexuality, Parent Education, Families and Grief, and Peace.

Getting Through Tough Times

Sharon M. Danes, Professor in the Department of Family Social Science, developed fact sheets covering five content areas for people experiencing trauma.When income is reduced for any reason, (for example, when one loses a job or because of the results of a natural disaster), people respond in certain ways. Adjusting to a sudden income loss in your family involves thinking about more than just dollars and cents. You have many attitudes, values, and feelings about money from your childhood and family upbringing. This publication, Getting Through Tough Times, will help you understand what happens in the first few months after an unplanned income loss as you deal with the overlapping emotional, economic, and social effects.

The Department of Family Social Science provides outstanding undergraduate, master's and doctoral level education dealing with all aspects of family life in the U.S. and elsewhere, with the full range of factors affecting families, with family therapy, and family education. In national rankings the department is considered the premier family department in America. Departmental faculty are leaders in family research, family theory, family therapy, family education, and consultation on family issues.

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