Stronger Families – Stronger Future
Recognizing and celebrating the important work done within families every day, while continuing to enhance research, education, and resources.
26 Family Impact Seminars
brought nonpartisan evidence and strategies to legislators to help them find common ground on policy and programs that affect Hoosier families
700+ Thousand DOLLARS
funding provided directly to over 100 students and faculty at Purdue University, to support their study of families from a cross-disciplinary, life course perspective
25 Years AROUND THE WORLD
identifying the best research about work and family, with the Kanter Award, used to educate corporate practitioners responsible for programs, practices and policies that affect more than 3 million employees and their families
What research can companies rely on to help make decisions?
THE FAMILY DINNER PROJECT
Sharing a family meal is good for the spirit, the brain and the health of all family members. Studies link regular family dinners lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy and depression, as well as higher grade-point averages and self-esteem.
As part of the 30th Anniversary, Stronger Families – Stronger Future, the Center for Families joined with The Family Dinner Project to offer shareable, downloadable, and printable resources for use by our partners. Partners will have access to items related to food, fun, conversation, family meal tips, and more. There are also step-by-step guides and training materials to help you organize community events and workshops. We invite you to use all of the available materials to share the benefits of family meals with your community!
LATEST RESEARCH AND NEWS
- SAVE THE DATE National Academy of Sciences Panel | Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM: A Call to Action
CFF SPEAKER SERIES Open to all Purdue University faculty and staff, this March 28 panel will provide insights into the diverse caregiving challenges faced by faculty, post docs, and graduate students. Building on the National Academies’ 2024 report, Supporting Family Caregivers in STEMM: A Call to Action, this in-person event will explore innovative strategies for fostering more inclusive academic environments. - Kanter Lecture to explore the implications of ‘invisible family load’ for employee health & well-being, job attitudes, and family-to-work spillover
CFF SPEAKER SERIES On April 8, Kanter Award Winner Dr. Julie Holliday Wayne brings her research that draws on five different studies to conceptualize and operationalize “invisible family load”, and it provides a new, robust, and well-validated measure of that work. - Center for Families celebrates 30th anniversary one family dinner table at a time
UPDATED – Purdue University men’s basketball center Will Berg, a hospitality and tourism management major in the College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS), knows the importance of family meals. In a February 2024 feature in the Purdue Exponent, Berg opened up about his love of cooking that started with regular dinners with his father, Martin — a joy that he then shared with other Purdue men’s basketball players.
It started with a simple question…
In 1994, Purdue alumna Lorene Burkhart and a group of advocates worked to bring about change at Purdue – an multidisciplinary approach to research about families. Not just a department, but a community. Their actions ensured the center’s longevity for future generations. We are able to pursue projects when grants aren’t possible. The Center for Families still creates a patchwork of projects that serve to improve the quality of life for families in all their diverse forms.
YOUR SUPPORT MAKES AN IMPACT
Every gift, no matter how large or small, makes it possible for the center to be involved in innovative initiatives that impact individuals and families.
GIVE NOWFamilies, in all their diverse forms, are the foundation of society. No culture has been able to provide anything better than the family for producing strong individuals for the journey of life.
—Dr. Donald Felker, Dean of College of Consumer and Family Science, 1987-1992