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Leadership in 1976–77

William Nichols

1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 William C. Nichols, a consulting psychologist and marriage and family therapist in Birmingham, MI, became NCFR’s 34th President.

2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 His comments as he took office are as follows:

3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 As the NCFR prepares to enter its “Jack Benny” 39th year in 1977, it is an appropriate time to do some stock-taking. That is precisely what the Executive Committee will be doing in Dallas, January 21–23, 1977. The usual meeting has been expanded into a Planning Retreat. Each participant has been asked to give attention to his/her special area of responsibility as well as to certain areas of general interest and to provide appropriate written materials in advance. We will look both to the past and to the future planning both short-range and long-range endeavors on the basis of what we have learned from the past. . . . The focus of the organization during my term as President will be in the direction of 1) involving the NCFR in the social policy area, something urged by others for years; 2) enlarging the NCFR membership, including doing what can be done officially and practically to open wider membership to Black, Spanish surname and Native American family life specialists, something called for by Gerald Leslie in 1971; and 3) encouraging the development of an International Section as well as the participation of NCFR in international endeavors involving the family. . . . As the NCFR approaches middle age, it is in the strong position of blending the old with the new, of mixing new blood of fresh infusions from students and young professionals with that of its tested veterans. The Board contains three former Presidents—Carlfred Broderick, Richard Hey, and Leland Axelson—along with four student young professional representatives. While the leadership positions are underrepresented in some areas, it is worth noting that the 27 names on the current NCFR letterhead include 14 males and 13 females and that the power distribution appears rather balanced between sexes.

4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 An NCFR Ad Hoc Committee on Special Mental Health Concerns in National Health Insurance was initiated to develop a position paper written by Joan Aldous and Katherine Johnson in 1979.

5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 Also in the policy area, the Ad Hoc Committee on Welfare Reform” was chaired by Robert Mitchell. This committee developed a position paper containing a family impact analysis of the President’s welfare reform proposal. After Board approval, the paper was presented to congressional committees and key Executive Branch officials as the NCFR position on the issue.

6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 0 The Press and Public Relations Committee completed a first draft of the Press and Public Relations Manual. Board members embarked on Constitutional revisions, and a second demographic study of NCFR membership was authorized to ascertain the interests of NCFR members.

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