Journals and Publications in 1938
The first journal of NCFR was called Living. It was a quarterly journal to be published in September, November, February, and May. Edited by Paul Sayre and based at the University of Iowa Law Building, Living was the forerunner of the Journal of Marriage and the Family (now Journal of Marriage and Family), which has become the premier research journal of the family field. Despite the momentous tasks of organizing this association and coordinating a national meeting, four issues of Living were published in 1939. The first issue was circulated in January 1939. It included the following articles, written by a variety of professionals: “Predictive […]
Awards in 1938
NCFR has presented awards of merit from the very first year of its existence. At the first annual meeting in 1938, an Award of Merit was presented to Frederick Osborn, with the following citation: “Administrator, Scientist, Able Worker for Human Betterment.”
Membership in 1938
The membership dues established in 1938 were $2.00 per individual who could vouch for sincere interest in the study of families and their relationships. Organizations were invited as members with the vote of the executive committee of NCFR. During the first year of its existence, and largely through the efforts of Ernest Burgess, secretary, over 500 members were recruited. They in turn were instrumental in coordinating the state and regional groups. Among the very first members of NCFR were lawyers, federal agency personnel, nonprofit associations, sociologists, religious leaders, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, home economists, physicians, and university professors from several […]
Structure and Governance in 1938
The first officers of NCFR were as follows: President: Paul Sayre, Professor of Law, University of Iowa Vice President: Huntington Cairns, Baltimore (Maryland) Bar Secretary–Treasurer: Ernest Burgess, Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago As secretary, Professor Burgess set about immediately to recruit state and regional leaders to form the first state and regional councils. Paul Sayre worked with a 10-member advisory council to plan the first annual conference of NCFR and edit the first journal. Members of the first advisory council of 1938 included Anne D. Blitz, Dean of Women, University of Minnesota; Harriett S. Daggett, Professor of Law, Louisiana […]
1938 Conference: The Contribution of the Family to the Cultural Wealth of the Nation
The first annual conference was held at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City on Saturday, September 17, 1938. The theme was “The Contribution of the Family to the Cultural Wealth of the Nation.” At the conference, the first Constitution was adopted, which stated that the purpose of NCFR “shall be to advance the cultural values that are now principally secured through family relations, for the advantage of the individual and the strength of the nation.” From the very beginning, NCFR was an interdisciplinary and interprofessional organization composed of members from a variety of backgrounds and professional fields, including sociology, home economics, […]
Leadership in 1938
The founding of NCFR in 1938 reflected the climate of the preceding years. Nineteenth- and 20th-century social and cultural upheavals (e.g., changing social institutions, changing women’s roles, and changing divorce and desertion rates) directed attention to the quality of family life in the United States. During the 1880s, family life educators organized parent groups. In 1908, the American Home Economics Association (AHEA) began initial work in behalf of family welfare. The sex education boom of World War I and the postwar progressive education movement both served as early forces in the formation of the family discipline. During the early decades of the 20th century, sociologists became […]
Recent Comments in this Document
June 7, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Sure, no problem
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June 7, 2016 at 2:45 pm
I wondered if I could use this for a project in my Chicano Studies class at ASU. The project will be put up in an exhibit display and possibly travel around to schools. Please let me know.
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November 12, 2013 at 10:20 am
Also worth a mention: John Gottman gave a Research Update for Practitioners on his marital research, which was well attended.
By the way, the name is “Celine Le Bourdais.”
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August 21, 2013 at 11:47 am
Dennis,
Enjoyed the story. And, what a lucky break for me that you did make this decision. Hope all is well.
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August 15, 2013 at 9:19 am
The 1980 Portland Conference was 12 days after Mt. St. Helen had erupted. There was lots of ash around all over, and I still have a bottle of that ash. That was the year we had an afternoon trip to near Mt. St. Helen’s planned, and still took the trip. On the way up the bus stopped at Crown Point which was typically one of the windiest spots around. The wind was so strong that it blew the name badges out of the plastic holders. It also blew Ruth Jewson, Helen Hartness, and me on top of each other (which was scary for us with Ruth, but she wasn’t hurt). The bus also stopped at Multnomah Falls which was stunning. That evening I played for Bert Adams to sing songs from some musicals. He did a magnificent job.
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August 13, 2013 at 1:24 pm
One of my first NCFR conferences was in Portland and I was still a doctoral student then, and a member of the Executive Committee of NCFR as the student rep. It was at that meeting that I was really thinking about my career and where I should go with it. I was a student in family sociology and my chair was Lee Axelson, then the President of NCFR. He wanted me to take a sociology position. But others suggested that my interests would be better served in Child and Family Development (then in Home Ec) where relationship issues would be easier to study. I did not know which way to go.
At that meeting we took a bus trip to the coast of Oregon for a “salmon bake” on the beach. I sat on the bus between Eleanor Luckey and Ruth Jewson. All the way over and back we talked about career directions and those two people who I respected so much listened to me, and gave me their counsel, experience, and wisdom. Eleanor noted that she had been trained in psychology but chose to go into child and family development since there were more peers there who could help her frame her ideas and help them mature. Ruth saw the emerging scholarship in CFD and the quality of research coming out. The result of that was my turning down sociology jobs and taking the CFD position at UNC-Greensboro, where John Scanzoni and others later joined me a a great department. And my first students there were Jay Mancini and Gary Bowen, who have become successful scholars in their own right.
So the memories of that NCFR in Portland so many years ago remind me of how important it is to continue to foster opportunities for young student scholars to meet with senior people who can give them other ideas, and perhaps bring perspectives that their own programs may not be able to offer. Keep mixing us all up, and recognize the key role you play in the stirring of the creative pots in this vital area of family research and practice.
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July 12, 2013 at 3:49 pm
These changes have been incorporated. Thanks for your feedback.
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July 11, 2013 at 8:52 am
Edits–
1. Please add that he was a professor for nearly 30 years
2. Also change “:marriage and family therapist” to “marriage and family researcher and therapist”
3. Prepare and Enrich should be all CAPS—PREPARE ENRICH
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July 8, 2013 at 4:16 pm
That terminology has been corrected. Thanks Marilyn.
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July 8, 2013 at 4:13 pm
In 1988-89, I was Association of Councils president-elect. In 1989-90, I was president. There was no vice president. Other officers were program chair, secretary/treasurer, and past president. Both the president elect and the president served on the NCFR Board.
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