Leadership in 1949
Ernest G. Osborne became President of NCFR and held that post until the summer of 1950. Osborne (whose nickname was “Lank”) served through three Annual Conferences and was highly regarded as a family life educator at Teachers College of Columbia University, NY. He wrote a syndicated column called Family Scrapbook, which was popular. He died in 1963. The following is an excerpt from Osborne’s Presidential Address: There are many indications to give substance to the belief that one of the outstanding current sociological phenomena is the rapid acceleration of popular interest in the socio-psychological aspects of marriage and the family. . […]
Affiliates in 1949
State and regional councils in 1949 were coordinated by Gladys Groves, who oversaw 26 of them. Eleanor Roosevelt was the keynote speaker at the Tri-State (NY, NJ, and CT) Council on the Family meeting. During that year, Hank Bowman from Stephens College in New York conducted a study of “College Courses in Marriage and Family Life,” which became a valuable benchmark for change in future years. NCFR membership listed in January 1949 was 2,760. Eleven national committees were activated: National Committee on Economic Basis of the Family, chaired by Christine Newell National Committee on Education for Marriage and Family Living in the Colleges, […]
1949 Conference: The Unique Contributions of the Professions to the Family
The 1949 Annual Conference was held at Park Sheraton Hotel, New York City, December 28–31, closing with the New Year’s celebration in Times Square. The conference theme was “The Unique Contributions of the Professions to the Family.” Ernest G. Osborne continued as President at this conference. Keynote speakers included Drs. Muriel Brown, Earl Koos, Leona Baumgartner, Ernest O. Melby, Ernest Osborne, Flor Thurston, Jacob Zuckerman, Milton Levine, the Rev. Otis Rice, Msgr. John O’Grady, O. Spurgen English, and Frank Hertel—all renowned experts in their multiple disciplines. Bernice Milburn Moore wrote an interesting summary in Marriage and Family Living (Vol. 12, No. 1, p. 13), which included […]
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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