Awards in 1955–56
The NCFR Research Section, through the Ernest W. Burgess Award Fund, announced an annual prize of up to $100 to be awarded to the person contributing the best research paper during the year in the field of marriage and family studies. The award would be presented at the Annual Conference, and the paper would be published in Marriage and Family Living. A committee consisting of Theodore B. Johannis, Reuben Hill, Clifford Kirkpatrick, Nelson Foote, and Winston Erhmann was appointed to work out the details of this award.
Membership in 1955–56
NCFR collaborated with the Elizabeth McCormick Memorial Fund to cosponsor a family research conference in Chicago in November 1956. Cochairs were David Treat of the Clara Elizabeth Fund and Donald Brieland of the Elizabeth McCormick Memorial Fund. Taking part in this cross-fertilization of ideas were several leading NCFR members: Judson T. Landis, Harold Christensen, Clifford Kirkpatrick, Donald Brieland, Nelson A. Foote, Gerald R. Leslie, A. R. Mangus, and many others. The proceedings of this meeting were published in a special issue of Marriage and Family Living (MFL) in February 1957. NCFR’s membership fees were raised slightly, to $8.00 for a husband-and-wife pair, $6.00 for individuals, and $3.00 for students. […]
Structure and Governance in 1955–56
It was decided that all officers of NCFR began serving their terms from the close of one annual meeting through the following meeting. Section chairs were as follows: Robert O. Blood, Family Life Education in Colleges Dale Womble, Education for Marriage and Family Living in Schools Fay Moeller, Family Life Education in the Community Bruce Thomason, Marriage and Family Counseling Theodore B. Johannis, Marriage and Family Research Wallace C. Fulton, Mass Media David Rauch, Parent Education Katherine Whiteside Taylor, Comparative Nursery Schools Albert Rosenburg, Housing and Family Welfare Wesley A. Kemp, Religion & the Family Eugene P. Link, International
Leadership in 1955–56
Judson T. Landis was President in 1956. He was a professor of family sociology and a member of the Institute of Human Development at the University of California, Berkeley. He and his wife Mary wrote a well-used book, Building a Successful Marriage, which sold over 800,000 copies worldwide. He authored numerous books and articles. The following is an excerpt from Judson T. Landis‘s Presidential Address: In the nuclear family, the socialization of the child is dependent too much on the central figure of the home, the mother. If she is too young, too soon shifts to the role of worker and […]
Journals and Publications in 1954–55
The August 1955 issue of Marriage and Family Living was a special international issue focused on “Service to the Family.” It was published in several foreign countries, including Australia, Canada, Egypt, England, France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Soviet Russia, Sweden, and the United States. Articles examined social services and family welfare in various countries, and there was also an article on the status of women throughout the world. Guest Editors were Eugene P. Link and Abraham Stone. Dale Womble published in the November 1955 issue of MFL, a Declaration of Rights issued by 165 high school students at […]
Affiliates in 1954–55
Lester Kirkendall, President of the Northwest Region Council, sponsored the annual conference in Oregon, which 600 attended. The theme of the conference was: “The New and Current in Family Life.” The Rocky Mountain Council met and proposed a bill sent to the state legislature to establish “A Family Court of Conciliation.” The bill made it to a vote but was narrowly defeated. The Northern California Council held its conference, with the theme of “Teenage Marriages,” which over 300 attended. The Utah, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Iowa Councils all held annual conferences that year. The Southeast Council, which now had 300 members, began its […]
Structure and Governance in 1954–55
Perhaps the most important long-term investment of NCFR during 1955 was the move of the national headquarters from Chicago to Minneapolis in the Fall. From Drexell Avenue, NCFR took up residence at 1219 University Ave. SE Minneapolis in the second floor of the University Baptist Church. It remained there for the next 27 years and has remained in Minneapolis up to the present time. Several reasons for the move were considered. First and foremost were the low rent, utility-free space, and the close proximity to the university, which was across the street. Dorothy Dyer was the chair of the Operating Committee while NCFR staffers settled […]
1955 Conference: The Family Tomorrow
The 1955 Annual Conference was held at the University of Minnesota, August 24–27. Dorothy Dyer was program chair. The theme was “The Family Tomorrow.” The focus was on international aspects of family life. Eugenia Anderson, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, gave the keynote address on “Foreign Affairs and the Family.” Other general sessions had as their topics “Highlights of Family Life in other Countries,” “Family Counseling,” “Family Protective Services Around the World,” “Health and the Family,” “Teaching Marriage Education Courses in Another Culture—Puerto Rico,” “Sacred Things in a Secular Society,” and “The Effects of Socio-Economic and Political Developments on the African Family System on the Gold […]
Leadership in 1954–55
NCFR President Gladys H. Groves headed the Groves Conference following the death of her husband, Ernest R. Groves, was Editor of Marriage and Family Living. Later, she became a family life specialist with the Extension service in Maine. She was also a published book author. Her Presidential Address included the following comments: Many specialists furnish information that is useful to the marriage educator and marriage counselor. Law, economics and biology suggest the breadth of background needed, but do not cover the field. Psychiatric insights are essential, anthropological orientation is an advantage, other approaches are desirable. Research in three directions is needed: […]
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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