Milestones
1993
Bringing together a focus on families
The Center for Families receives initial funding from 1956 alumna Lorene Burkhart, after being asked, “If you had a million dollars to put into Purdue, what would you do?” With the support of Cheryl Altinkemer and Ann Hancook, a group of 40 advocates made the focus of research about families more than an idea.
1994
The Center for Families is established
Susan Kontos, who joined Purdue faculty in 1985, named founding director and advisory council organized.
First project funded
It’s My Child Too – a program for noncustodial fathers.
First McAllister Fellowship funded to support student research
Anne Prouty‘s work was supported for the entire year with the support of the McAllister Fellowship.
1995
First grant received
The evaluation of Indiana First Steps Program – a program for children ages 0-3 with developmental delays.
1996
Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth named director
Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth appointed director of the Center.
1997
Center becomes the institutional home for the Indiana Consortium of Family Organizations
Originally established in 1993 with four organizations, Indiana COFO serves to promote a family perspective in the development, implementation, and evaluation of public policies and programs to enhance the well-being of Hoosier families.
1998
The Center creates fellowship to support early career faculty
The first Hancook Faculty Fellowship awarded to Fred Piercy for Developing and Field Testing a Manual with Indiana HIV Prevention Programs.
1999
The Center holds inaugural Family Impact Seminar in Indiana
Joining other states as part of the Family Impact Institute, the inaugural Family Impact Seminar, Healthy Environments for Young Children, was held at the Indiana Statehouse.
2000
Military Family Research Institute is established
The Department of Defense, Office of Military Community and Family Policy, tapped the Center to establish a separate research institute for studying military-connected families and sharing findings with policymakers and practitioners, and MFRI was created.
The Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research is launched
The Center partnered with Boston College Center for Work and Family, to establish the Kanter Award launched as a way to develop shared standards for research quality and to avoid redundancies in literature of the study of relationships between work and non-work life, at a time when it did not exist.
2004
The Center increases partnerships with faculty across campus to promote research about families
The Center established the Faculty Partner Program as a way to connect and promote researchers and their work about families.
2006
Indiana Infant-Toddler Specialist Network Launched
The Center partnered with Indiana University to create the Indiana Infant-Toddler Specialists of Indiana.
2008
First grant to support undergraduate research awarded
The first research enhancement grant was awarded to Dr. Carol Bushey to support the work of Leslie Cradler, Are adolescent attitudes toward calcium rich foods and intake of dietary calcium related to the presence of grandparent(s) living in the household?
2010
The Center joins with faculty partners to create symposium series
Inaugural methodological symposium held – Research with Dyads and Families: Challenges and Solutions in Working With Interdependent Data – in the Families and Health Symposium series
2012
Boston College National Workforce Roundtable supports the Kanter Award
The Center worked with Boston College National Workforce Roundtable to fund the award, ensuring that the policies that govern over four million employees they represent, are guided by the best-of-the-best research.
2013
First Burkhart Award for Excellence in Research about Families at Purdue University awarded
The creation of the Lorene Burkhart Award for Excellence in Research about Families is a way to recognize outstanding family research being conducted by Purdue faculty. The inaugural recipient was Aryn Dotterer for her article Parenting, Race, and Socioeconomic Status: Links to School Readiness.
2014
Inaugural Kanter Lecture held
The Kanter Lecture Series was created to bring departments from across campus to hear from Kanter Award Nominated researchers – bringing some of the best work-family research to campus.
First Studorshka Interdisciplinary Research Grant awarded
Travis Dorsch and Bree Studenka, established an Interdisciplinary Research Award, to support graduate students whose research touches two field of study. The first recipient, was Zachary Gold for Preschoolers’ Physical, Social, and Engineering Play Behaviors: Differences in Gender and Play Environment. Child development, early education, and engineering.
2015
Family Impact Institute moves its national headquarters to the Center
After 16 years at University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Family Impact Institute moved its headquarters to the Center. Using research to build better public policy for families, the Center worked with 26 states to conduct their own Family Impact Seminars, and support their research.
Betty Levien Krejci endows family policy internship
As a way to honor her parents, Betty Krejci established the Leo and Elva Levien Family Endowment to support graduate students as they learn about the research to policy process.
2018
Kanter Award winner announced at Work and Family Researchers Network conference, partnership expanded
As a way to expand the network of researchers the Center partnered with the Work and Family Researchers Network. Kanter Award winners Silke Aisenbrey & Anette Fasang, The interplay of work and family trajectories over the life course: Germany and the United States in comparison, were announced.
2019
COFO holds 20th Family Impact Seminar at the Indiana State House
The Center and COFO members brought legislators and policy makers together at the 20th INFIS, Hoosiers and Homes: Housing Policies in Indiana.
2020
Families Tackling Tough Times Together launched
As a way to support families experiencing stress from actions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic more than 60 faculty, staff and students from Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences, Purdue Extension – Health and Human Sciences, and colleagues from across Purdue and around the country joined forces with the Center to rapidly build this “pop-up” initiative that provides materials on family and child resilience.
Associate Directors appointed
Stepping up to help lead the Center, Melissa Franks is named the Associate Director for Research and Partnerships and Rob Duncan named the Associate Director for Policy.
2021
Bob and Joyce Miles endow the Research Enhancement Grant
After many years of supporting the Center and the Research Enhancement Grant, which supports faculty as they work with undergraduate researchers, Bob and Joyce created the Bob L. and Joyce Beery Miles Research Endowment to ensure that this support for research continues in perpetuity.
2022
The Center celebrates forging better futures for families
Friends of the Center for Families recognized 25 years of impact.
2023
Melissa Franks named director
Melissa Franks appointed director of the Center.
2024
Stronger Families – Stronger Future, CFF Celebrates 30 Years!
The Center is taking this year to recognize and celebrate the important work done within families every day, while continuing to enhance research, education, and resources. Read more!
CFF joins people across the state to help support families, by encouraging them to eat together!
The Family Dinner Project in Indiana is an initiative developed in partnership with Anne Fishel, PhD, as part of the 30th Anniversary of the Center for Families.
2025
Speaker Series Launched
As a way to bring research that focuses on families from a multidisciplinary, life course perspective, to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends, CFF created the Speaker Series which pulls in existing initiatives while highlighting partnerships throughout campus.