UA News

The Frances McClelland Institute conference will center on several issues relative to adolescents, including topics related to health and development.

The Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families at The University of Arizona is hosting a conference next week that will cover topics that include development, aggression, disease prevention and several other issues.

The March 5 and 6 interdisciplinary conference is open to the public and is expected to draw UA faculty and students, researchers and others locally and across the United States.

The institute, which is part of the John and Doris Norton School for Family and Consumer Sciences, will offer attendees the chance to examine recent advances and new research centered on the emotional and physical health of adolescents.

The conference will be held 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 5 atUA's Park Student Union, 615 N. Park Ave.

The conference will continue March 6 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Park Student Union with lunch, poster sessions and institute tours held from 12:30 to 2:30 at McClelland Park.

"As a land-grant institution, The University of Arizona takes its obligation to serve the public very seriously – especially in tough economic times, when we can help organizations and individuals reevaluate, recalibrate and get back to basics," said Stephen T. Russell, the Frances McClelland Institute director.

"We are confident that bringing together such a dedicated group of researchers and passionate advocates for the well-being of children, youth, and families will lead to collaborative efforts that will benefit communities all across America," said Russell, who also holds the Fitch Nesbitt Endowed Chair in Family and Consumer Sciences.

The UA institute is a catalyst for research that addresses some of the most critical social, emotional and physical issues facing families today.

The institute's priorities are collaborative, multidisciplinary research inititatives and also community outreach that focuses on family, parenting, adolescent heatlh and development, and other topics.

The event's speakers include:

• Alice Schlegel, a UA anthropology professor, will give her presentation titled "Contributions of Anthropology to the Study of Adolescence Parenthetical with a Nod to History." A panel discussion will follow.

• Jacquelynne Eccles, a professor in the departments of psychology and education at the University of Michigan, will present her lecture titled "The Social Contexts of Adolescent Development: Stage Environment Fit." A panel presentation on the issue of aggression and problem behaviors will follow.

• Donna Spruijt-Metz is a professor at the Keck School of Medicine's Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research at the University of Southern California. She will present a lecture titled "Wanting Our Cake and Eating It Too: A Decade of Pediatric Obesity Research."

At the end of the conference, the Frances McClelland Institute and the UA Norton School will host the dedication ceremony in the Ira Fulton Auditorum at McClelland Park from 3 to 5 p.m.

The institute was named in honor of the late Frances H. McClelland. McClelland, a 1944 graduate of the UA. She was an Arizona businesswoman who devoted her life to improving the lives of children and families throughout the state.

As part of the dedication, the institute will present its first Vision Award to Ms. Nadine Mathis Basha, who chairs First Things First in Arizona. The award goes to those whose advocacy and activities – like those of McClelland – have made contributions to the well-being of Arizona's children and families.

The UA's Norton Endowed Lecture will follow the event and will be delivered by Bruce Ellis, a family studies and human development professor who holds the UA's Norton Chair in Fathers, Parenting, and Families.

Ellis will present his talk titled "Fathers Really Matter: Early Experiences with Dads Change Puberty and Sexual Behaviors in Daughters."

A reception at the Norton School's Lakin Family Plaza will conclude the dedication.