Annual Report 2000-2001

Key Accomplishments for the Year

• Approval of the departmental mission statement.
• Creation of a departmental website: http://www.uri.edu/hss/hdf.
• A technology audit and accompanying recommendations for equipment upgrade.
• An off-campus meeting of faculty, students, and agency stakeholders to clarify the focus of the Human Development and Family Studies master's degree program.
• Participation in the Appreciative Inquiry process to help clarify departmental strengths and achievements.
• Program to honor the contributions of Russell and Molly Smart to the Kingston Child Development Center.
• Search for two new faculty members.
• The successful collaboration with the Family Resource Partnership, parent advocacy groups, and the state departments of Health, Education, and Human Services, to offer the Rhode Island Early Childhood Summer Institutes, summer 2000 and summer 2001.

Undergraduate Program Highlights

Faculty served as advisors to 360 departmental majors. In addition, they advised students in University College and at the Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education.

Faculty advised 11 undergraduate students in independent projects and honors projects.

The department offered 76 sections of undergraduate level courses serving an enrollment of 1507 students for 4133 credit hours in Fall, 2000. The department offered 77 sections of undergraduate level courses serving an enrollment of 1419 students for 3978 credit hours in Spring, 2001.

The revised curriculum was implemented with the introduction of HDF 180, Personal and Career Development for students entering the department; field experiences associated with four human development courses, and the introduction of a new course, HDF 205, Family Financial Issues across the Lifespan.

Course offerings in the area of Family Financial Counseling and Planning were approved as a university minor.

75 students enrolled in HDF 380, the senior field experience, in Fall 2000 and Spring 2001. These students provide 2, 3, or 4 full days per week of unpaid internship work to human service agencies throughout Rhode Island, a significant contribution to the welfare of children, youth, adults, and families in the state.

Graduate Program Highlights

Faculty served as advisors to 45 graduate students in Human Development and Family Studies. They also served on 25 student committees for graduate students outside of our department, primarily psychology and education.

Faculty guided 23 students in non-thesis research projects and 5 students in the completion of master's theses.

The department sponsored 27 sections of graduate courses, including masters research and internship courses, with an enrollment of 211 students for 592 credit hours in Fall, 2000.

The department sponsored 23 sections of graduate courses, including masters research and internship courses, with an enrollment of 172 students for 498 credit hours in Spring, 2001.

The Marriage and Family Therapy master's program was approved for reaccredidation by the Commission of Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education, a division of AAMFT, for a 6-year period.

The department undertook a detailed review of the master's program in Human Development and Family Studies, including a comparison with similar programs at other universities, and a meeting with stakeholders to identify career opportunities and the kinds of skills needed for leadership positions in human service agencies. A revised program focus emerged with an emphasis on family policy, research, program development and evaluation. This emphasis is being incorporated into a modified curriculum which will be put forward for approval in 2001-2002.

A new graduate level course: HDF 506, The Rhode Island Early Childhood Education Institute was approved. This is an innovative model for creating a collaborative curriculum addressing research and application in issues and controversies facing early childhood education for professionals across the state.

Outreach and Service Highlights

The Department achieves its outreach mission in a variety of ways. We are the academic home to the Kingston and the Providence Child Development Centers. We are the academic home to the URI Family Therapy Clinic. We are actively involved in the Center for Personal Financial Education, a collaborative program between the URI Cooperative Extension and the Consumer Counseling Center of Southern New England. Undergraduate and graduate students participate in thousands of hours of supervised field work and internship programs, providing a major resource to human service agencies throughout the state. The Department hosts the Rhode Island Early Childhood Summer Institute, a collaborative program intended to improve the professional leadership among early childhood administrators and educators for the state. The Department Chair is the Program Leader for the URI Land Grant focus area on Children, Youth, and Families.

Faculty were active in leadership roles in the department, college, and university as well as at the state, regional and national levels. Ten faculty served on college level committees including 3 on the search committee for the new dean of the college of Human Science and Services. Nine faculty served on University level committees. Twelve faculty were on state level committees, 6 on regional committees, and 11 faculty were involved in service at the national level including serving on the editorial boards of professional journals, playing leadership roles in professional associations, and helping to organize professional conferences. The following examples suggest the range and significance of the many forms of faculty professional service:

Ms. Dale Blumen was President of the Rhode Island Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Dr. Katherine Branch was Chair of the American College Personnel Association's Commission XII Convention Sponsored Programs. She was co-chair of the URI 2000 Diversity Week Planning Committee.

Dr. Phil Clark was a member of the Executive Council of the National Association of Geriatric Education Centers.

Dr. Diane Horm-Wingerd was a member of the Early Learning Standards Task Force of the Rhode Island Department of Education. She also served as a reviewer for U. S. Department of Education field-initiated grants competition, and the NSF/ U.S. Dept. of Education collaborative grant competition.

Dr. Mary Kalymun, was the interior designer for the new South Kingstown Community Center for Seniors.

Dr. Peter Maynard, Examiner for the American Board of Professional Psychology.

Ms. Sandra Saunders, Member of the Special Senate Commission to Study and Make Recommendations on Ways to Maintain and Expand Access to Quality Oral Health Care for All Rhode Island Residents.

Dr. Jing Xiao became editor of the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers. He also served as Chair of the American Council for Consumer Interests International Committee.

Research and Scholarship Highlights

The faculty produced work for dissemination in scholarly journals, proceedings, chapters and books, providing book reviews, and reviewing manuscripts for journals and publishers. In the year 2000-2001, the faculty had 9 articles published in refereed journals and 5 articles in press. They published ten books or book chapters, and had 4 in press.

Two educational projects were completed, "Getting Fiscally Fit", a series of educational modules for financial educators available on CD-ROM; and "SeniorCise", a health promotion video series.

The faculty made 32 presentations at national and international professional meetings.

Professor Jing J. Xiao was promoted to the rank of Full Professor.

Professor Stewart Cohen was on sabbatical leave, studying the life experiences of older adults who are involved in service learning projects, continuing education, or other challenges that can be taken as evidence of adaptive aging.

Professor Gwenneth Rae celebrated her retirement.

Thirteen department members submitted grants to fund research and outreach activities. Faculty were active in four grants funded through URI, and 17 grants funded by external sources including: The National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Aging, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Rhode Island Dept. of Elderly Affairs, the Rhode Island Dept. of Education, the Rhode Island Dept. of Health, the Foundation for Financial Planning and the NEFE High School Planning Program.

Faculty research was marked by collaboration, both within and across departments. The lifespan focus of the department was highlighted by the range of developmental stages and issues encompassed in the faculty's research and scholarly work. The Family Resource Partnership provided a unique opportunity for scholarly collaboration across departments and colleges, and with state agencies.

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