Health and Human Development

Diversity takes main stage at center's anniversary celebration events

On April 8 and 9, the Center for Family Research in Diverse Contexts (CFRDC) on Penn State's University Park campus will be celebrating its 10th anniversary with a two-day event titled "Extending Our Borders: Moving Beyond a Domestic View of Diverse Families and Communities." The center hopes to engage members of the Penn State and local community on diversity issues through a number of ways, including a faculty research panel, a poster presentation and award ceremony, and an event that focuses on student engagement at Penn State. All events are free and open to the public. Registration is requested for the roundtable discussions; interested persons can register at www.hhdev.psu.edu/cfrdc/.

Faculty research panel (April 8)

From 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. in the Bennett Pierce Living Center (110 Henderson Building), faculty from several academic units at Penn State will participate in a panel discussion, titled “Health Policy and Mental Health Considerations among Immigrant and Ethnic Minority Populations.” All participants are faculty affiliates of the CFRDC and include Daphne Hernandez, assistant professor of human development and family studies; José Soto, assistant professor of psychology; Kevin Thomas, assistant professor of African and African American studies; and Jennifer Van Hook, associate professor sociology and demography.

Graduate/undergraduate research poster session and award ceremony (April 8)

At 4 p.m. in the Hintz Family Student Center (10 Henderson Building), undergraduate and graduate students from across Penn State will be displaying posters that deal with issues of diversity. The posters will be judged by a panel of postdoctoral researchers, and one student will receive an award, which is sponsored by Penn State’s Forum on Black Affairs.

Faculty/graduate student breakfast—roundtable discussions (April 9)

Faculty and graduate students can participate in one of six roundtable discussions taking place at 9 a.m. in the Hintz Family Student Center (10 Henderson Building). Interested participants are asked to pre-register for this event on the CFRDC Web site, www.hhdev.psu.edu/cfrdc. All topics focus on issues of diversity in research and include parent-child relations, health disparity research, methodology, anthropological perspectives on diversity, culture and health, and designing interventions.

Tenth anniversary keynote address (April 9)

Tukufu Zuberi will be presenting “The Misuse and Abuse of Race as a Variable in Family Research” at 11:30 a.m. in Heritage Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center. Zuberi is the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, the Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, and professor and chair of the sociology department at the University of Pennsylvania. He also is a host of the PBS program "History Detectives." Collins Airhihenbuwa, professor and head of the Department of Biobehavioral Health, will serve as discussant for this event.

Evening of engaged voices (April 9)

The anniversary celebration will wrap up with “Evening of Engaged Voices,” a multimedia event that will center on student engagement at Penn State. This event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. the Hintz Family Student Center (10 Henderson). Included in the event will be two choreographed dances by Kikora Franklin, assistant professor of dance at Penn State; a video on student engagement; brief presentations by students; spoken word by Charles Dumas, associate professor of theatre and African and African American studies; an image gallery of art from Penn State students; and a reception.

About the CFRDC: The Center for Family Research in Diverse Contexts, administratively located in the College of Health and Human Development, is a nationally recognized center of excellence in the training, promotion, and conduct of novel interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the areas of human development and families in diverse populations.

Credit: HHD Alumni and College Relations / Penn StateCreative Commons

Last Updated November 18, 2010

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