Alan C. Acock, Professor

PhD (Sociology), Washington State University, Pullman

Research Interests: Intergenerational relations, family structure, fathering, at risk families, quantitative methods.

Acock receives prestigious award

Carolyn M. Aldwin, Professor and Department Chair

PhD (Adult Development & Aging) University of California, San Francisco

Research Interests: The effects of psychosocial factors on health, especially in older adults. Other areas of interest include how people cope with stress, the long-term effects of trauma, the interface between physical and mental health, and the factors that promote optimal aging.

Sally Bowman, Family Development Specialist

PhD (Sociology), University of Oregon

Research Interests: My research and Extension program is focused on gerontology and poverty and workforce development, with some programming in family relations. My work includes the development and evaluation of innovative educational methods, such as interactive simulations and multimedia approaches in order to facilitate learning.

Marc Braverman, Associate Dean, Extension FCD Program Leader

PhD (Educational Psychology), University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research Interests: Applied research methods and program evaluation; health promotion programming for youth; prevention research; adolescence.

Deborah Coehlo, Assistant Professor

PhD (Human Development & Family Studies), Oregon State University

Research Interests: Her research, scholarly work, and publications have focused on caregiving across the lifespan, care of children with special needs and their families, including sibling relationships, mental health issues across the life span and multimedia strategies for enhancing education. Her current research and scholarly interests are distance learning and development of multimedia educational programs and parenting in Native American families.

Lizbeth Ann Gray, Associate Professor

PhD (Counseling Psychology), Washington State University

Research Interests: Family, sexuality, social change, women’s issues, human services, and international context.

Scott Hofer, Professor

PhD (Psychology), University of Southern California

Research Interests: Identifying within-person change and between-person differences in lifespan developmental and aging-related processes; current research focuses on describing and identifying predictors of individual-level change in longitudinal studies on aging, with an emphasis on interrelationships among change and stability in health and cognitive functioning.

Karen Hooker, Professor, Director Program on Gerontology

PhD (Human Development & Family Studies) Pennsylvania State University

Research Interests: Self processes over the adult lifespan, personality and health, family caregiving in later life, goals, affect, and cognitive representations of self, developmental methodology.

Michael R. Levenson, Associate Professor

PhD (Psychology) University of California Irvine

Research Interests: Exceptional adult development with a special emphasis on transformational change. Developmental theory, psychological assessment, personality disorders, and consciousness studies.

Katherine A. MacTavish, Assistant Professor

PhD (Human & Community Development), University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana

Research Interests: Rural families and communities, community effects, family management strategies and child/youth development in risky rural contexts, rural housing, rural schools, poverty and community development.

Megan McClelland, Assistant Professor

PhD (Developmental Psychology), Loyola University, Chicago

Research Interests: Early social, cognitive, and literacy development. Current research focuses on the developmental pathways through which learning-related social skills influence academic and social development. Research also examines children at-risk for social and academic problems in preschool and elementary school.

Patricia Moran, Associate Professor

PhD (Human Development & Family Studies), Cornell University

Research Interests: End of life issues, family policy at-risk youth.

Leslie Richards, Assistant Professor

PhD (Human Development), Cornell University

Research Interests: Rural poverty, relationships, family literacy, program evaluation

Sharon Rosenkoetter, Associate Professor

PhD (Human Development & Family Life). University of Kansas

Research Interests: Early childhood leadership, early childhood transitions, policy development related to chidren and families. Development of literacy skills in typically and atypically developing young children.

Richard A. Settersten, Jr., Professor

PhD (Human Development and Social Policy), Northwestern University

Research Interests: The life course; social policy; transition to adulthood; age and aging; fatherhood; civic engagement

Samuel Vuchinich, Associate Professor

PhD (Sociology) University of Michigan

Research Interests: Family interaction and social development, adolescence, quantitative methods, family conflict and problem solving.

Alexis J. Walker, Professor and Joanne L. Petersen Chair in Gerontology and Family Studies

PhD (Human Development & Family Studies). Pennsylvania State University

Research Interests: Gender and family relationships, inter- and intra-generational relationships, families in middle and later life.

Chris Ward, Associate Professor

PhD (Practical Arts and Vocational-Technical Education)

Research Interests: Family and Consumer Sciences teacher education, curriculum development.

Clara C. Pratt, Professor

PhD (Lifespan Human Development), University of Oregon

Research interests: Social policy and program evaluation.

Sara Honn Qualls

Kraemer Family Professor of Aging Studies; Professor of Psychology; and Director, Gerontology Center, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Research Interests: family caregiving transitions and use of technology to facilitate family-resident contact after older adults move into senior housing.