UA News

The UA Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth and Families is being dedicated in honor of the late Frances McClelland.

The University of Arizona will dedicate the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth and Families in honor of the late UA graduate and businesswoman who devoted her life to improving the lives of children and enhancing the well-being of families in Arizona.

The dedication, hosted by the institute, will be held March 6, at 3 p.m. The event will be held in the Ira Fulton Auditorium at McClelland Park, the new home of the UA's John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at 650 N. Park Ave. The event is open to the public.

"We believe dedicating the institute in honor of Frances McClelland is the perfect way to recognize her lifetime of advocacy on behalf of children and families," said Stephen T. Russell, director of the Frances McClelland Institute and Fitch Nesbitt Endowed Chair in Family and Consumer Sciences. "We are grateful for the McClelland family's ongoing support of the University and unwavering belief in the ability of our research to change lives."

Frances McClelland graduated from the UA in 1944, and was instrumental in numerous efforts to strengthen families, which she believed was the foundation for a successful society. In 1946, she joined her parents in the family business, Shamrock Dairy.

Over the years, Frances and Norman McClelland helped grow it into Shamrock Foods Co., which now operates throughout the western United States.

She also was involved in a variety of post-graduation activities with the University, including serving on the institute's inaugural advisory board, and on the UA Foundation Board. In 2003, the University presented her with an honorary doctorate degree. She passed away in 2005.

Frances and Norman McClelland also provided early seed money for the institute and made substantial gifts to the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences and the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Norman McClelland, who graduated from the UA in 1949, said Frances never forgot the family's immigrant roots and search for freedom from religious persecution, which brought the Scotch-Irish group to America.

"We have a special bond with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences," said Norman McClelland. "Over the years our family and Shamrock have received the benefit of new ideas and products they have developed, from cooling systems to crop genetics and disease control. Frances and I thank you."

The dedication will open with remarks by Soyeon Shim, director of the Norton School, Stephen Russell, Norman McClelland and UA President Robert N. Shelton.

Eugene G. Sander, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and vice president for outreach, will present the first Frances McClelland Institute Vision Award, which will be given every two years to an Arizona community leader who, like Frances McClelland, has made significant contributions to improving the lives of children and families in the state.

Bruce Ellis will give the Norton Endowed Lecture, "Fathers Really Matter: Early Experiences with Dads Change Puberty and Sexual Behaviors in Daughters." Ellis is a professor of family studies and human development who also holds the UA's Norton Chair in Fathers, Parenting and Families. A reception at the school's Lakin Family Plaza will conclude the dedication.

The ceremony follows a two-day academic conference, "Adolescence in the 21st Century." The conference will bring together faculty, researchers, students and community leaders from across the nation to examine recent advances and promising interdisciplinary research underway into the emotional and physical health of adolescents.

The Frances McClelland Institute is a catalyst for research that addresses the most critical social, emotional and physical issues facing families today. It focuses on collaborative, multidisciplinary research and community outreach involving three initiatives: fathers, parenting and families; adolescent health and development; and an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students at the UA engaged in the scientific study of health, emotion and relationships.