A Message from the Department Head, 2024-2025

Welcome to the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences!

 

Eva S. Lefkowitz
Eva S. Lefkowitz

We recently welcomed new students and faculty to the department, including two faculty. Sarah Rendón García, who studies Latine families, joined us in Storrs, and Kyla McRoy joined the UConn Stamford faculty to teach early childhood courses and to serve as the Campus Coordinator of the Early Childhood Specialization. Our HDFS community continues to demonstrate their commitment to excellence in research, teaching, and community engagement in innumerable ways. It’s impossible to briefly summarize all the recent news in HDFS. However, here are some highlights:

Research:

HDFS faculty and graduate students dedicate most of their research to improving the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals. Some key examples include

  • Marketa Burnett’s research on Black girls’ identity development, Black family processes, and the factors that shape STEM persistence
  • Raymond Moody’s recent receipt of a 5-year career award to study stigma, drug use, and HIV vulnerability among Hispanic and Latino sexual minority men
  • Candidus Nwakasi’s work investigating social and psychological factors that influence cancer survivorship among disadvantaged populations, especially Black and Latinx older adults, and their caregivers.

Teaching and Mentoring:

  • Professor Cora D’Alessandro has moved to UConn Waterbury, where she is helping us establish the early childhood specialization to be available to all UConn Waterbury students.
  • Students in Dr. Laura Donorfio's Professional Development in HDFS course organized UConn Waterbury's first Career Closet. Over 100 students attended the free event to pick out several articles of professional clothing for future interviews/careers. All clothing was donated by community partners. We are also grateful to our HDFS alumni who were involved and worked closely with the class: Heather Price (2016 graduate), Assistant Director of Academic Affairs at UConn Waterbury and Ali DeGirolamo (2020 graduate), Mayoral Aide for the city of Waterbury.
  • The first ever Early Childhood Club was established in Fall 2023 and regular, bi-weekly meetings began this past spring.

Community Engagement:

  • The Supportive Obesity Care website officially went live! Dr. Rebecca Puhl and Carson Hardee worked with Eli Lilly and Company to create this educational resource for clinicians. Throughout the collection of evidence-based educational videos, podcasts, handouts, and resources, the site provides strategies to improve healthcare delivery to patients and reduce weight bias in clinical care. https://supportiveobesitycare.rudd.center.uconn.edu/
  • Across the year, the UConn Child Development Labs hosted students from multiple high schools for tours, including Trumbull High School, Bristol Central High School and EO Smith High School right here in Storrs.

 

It was another award-winning year for our faculty. As a few examples.

  • Keith Bellizzi is a newly elected Fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
  • Preston Britner received the 2023 Provost’s Outstanding Service Award.
  • Laura Donorfio was recognized as the 2024 Outstanding UConn Professional or UConn Staff Member for her dedication to building and supporting diverse communities of gender and sexualities at UConn and specifically at UConn Waterbury
  • Kim Gans received the 2023 InCHIP Community-Engaged Health Research Excellence Award AND the Center for Career Development Career Colleague-Nominated Faculty Career Advocate of the Year Award.
  • Veronica Hanna-Walker was the CLAS Graduate Student Recipient for the Outstanding Senior Women Academic Achievement Award.
  • Vida Samuel won the 2024 Outstanding Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Award.
  • Ruth Salazar was the CLAS Undergraduate Student Recipient for the Outstanding Senior Women Academic Achievement Award.
  • Rachel Tambling received the 2023 Kathleen Briggs Outstanding Mentor Award.

 

HDFS faculty’s research, and the training that HDFS graduate and undergraduate students engage in, are critical for addressing some of the major concerns of our society. Our faculty, staff, and students continue their important work to understand individuals and families in context, and continue their missions of teaching, research, and service to the university, the community, the state, the nation, and the world.