Longtime NCFR member Candyce S. Russell, Ph.D., died on April 8, 2019, at age 73.

Dr. Russell taught in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Kansas State University for 37 years, where she co-founded the marriage and family therapy program and served as its director.

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Mid-range models bring theory "down to earth" and help guide research and practice in theoretically informed ways. This technique can incorporate both qualitative and quantitative methods of reasoning to help use research to guide our theories.

In this upcoming NCFR webinar, presenter Kari Adamsons, Ph.D., will teach how to create mid-range models within the discipline of Family Science. The webinar will focus on both conceptual and methodological skills.

Approved for 1 CFLE contact hour of continuing education credit.

register for this webinar

Don't miss next week's webinar: Adolescent Sexting: What Researchers and Practitioners Need to Know — Thursday, April 25

Future webinars include: The Fundamentals of Dealing With Missing Data (May 16), and Creating Mid-Range Models (May 21).

Registration for the 2019 NCFR Conference in Fort Worth, Texas is now open. This year's conference will be held at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel from Nov. 20-23. Register today!

We are excited for our plenary presenters who will illuminate our conference theme of understanding the ever-complex reality of family relationships:

• Stephanie Coontz, M.A. — Shifting Terrain: The Changing Context of Family Sustainability and Healthy Relationships
• Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D., CAS — Supporting and Sustaining Research on Children and Families: Research Priorities and Future Directions
• Cynthia García Coll, Ph.D. — Topic TBA
• Rubén Parra-Cardona, Ph.D. — Closing the Gap Between Two Countries: 10 Years of Implementation of a U.S.-Mexico Program of Parenting Prevention Research with Underserved Populations

meet our presenters

NCFR Fellow Bahira Sherif Trask, Ph.D., was a presenter at a side event of the 52nd Session of the Commission on Population and Development, held April 4, 2019, at the United Nations.

Dr. Trask was invited to speak on the subject of parenting education, in the context that it has been identified as a key component to helping families with children worldwide in vulnerable situations.

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Members! We want to hear how you are working to understand and strengthen families. Share news and announcements about yourself or other members using our online form.

New early-view articles are available for subscribers of each of NCFR's three scholarly journals, including:

• What's Mine Is Ours? Income Pooling in American Families
  Kasey J. Eickmeyer, Wendy D. Manning, and Susan L. Brown
  Journal of Marriage and Family
• Contextual Relational Uncertainty Model: Understanding Ambiguity in a Changing Sociopolitical Context of Marriage
  J. Kale Monk and Brian G. Ogolsky
  Journal of Family Theory & Review
• Social Justice and the Future of Healthy Families: Sociocultural Changes and Challenges
  Stephen T. Russell
  Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science

find new articles

The spring issue of NCFR Report is available online and and features news and updates from all corners of the NCFR membership.

Included are many opportunities for members to serve through NCFR and share their knowledge and skills in Family Science and Family Life Education with the wider world:

• Family Science Training Provides Relevant Competencies for 21st-Century Workforce
  and Life
  Anisa M. Zvonkovic, Ph.D., NCFR President
• NCFR Strongly Advocates for Family Scholars and Professionals — Diane Cushman, NCFR Executive Director
• There’s Never Been a Better Time to Get to Know Your Legislators 
  Jennifer Crosswhite, Ph.D., CFLE, Director of Research and Policy Education
• International Perspectives on Family Life Education  
  Dawn Cassidy, M.Ed., CFLE, Director of Family Life Education
• And more!

see full table of contents

Family Focus articles are exclusive to NCFR members and require logging in to the website to access. NCFR Report news articles and member updates are open to the public.

NCFR seeks nominations and applications for the position of editor of Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF).

The four-year term of the new editor will begin with the publication of the February 2021 issue. However, editorial responsibilities will begin to transfer to the new editor beginning January 2020.

The JMF Editor Search Committee will review application materials beginning Aug. 1, 2019, and anticipates making a selection by Oct. 1, 2019.

apply today

Manuscripts are invited from across all social science disciplines for Re/Formation and Identity: The Intersectionality of Development, Culture, and Immigration, an edited volume to explore the complexities and multi-dimensionality of identity reformation and development among immigrant families across the lifespan.

Authors should indicate interest by June 1, 2019, by submitting a title and 500-word abstract to co-editors Deborah Johnson and Susan Chuang.

see full call details

The National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University has published a new series of reports that documents over 25 years of change in the first marriage rate, focusing on age variation according to race and ethnicity.

Overall trends in declines and delays in marriage obscure considerable variation by age group. The various findings are explored in the following profiles: 

• Age Variation in the First Marriage Rate, 1990 & 2017 (FP-19-05)
• Median Age at First Marriage, 2017 (FP-19-06)
• Median Age at First Marriage: Geographic Variation, 2017 (FP-07)

Find these resources and many more in the NCFR Resource Library

Unless you've been living in a (ahem) hole, you probably heard about the phenomenal photo of a black hole, captured for the first time last week by a team of scientists from around the world.

In this TEDx video from 2016, one of those researchers, Katie Bouman (now a Ph.D., but then a doctoral student at M.I.T.) explains the theory behind how scientists found a way to photograph the invisible using the Event Horizon Telescope. And now in 2019, we know that their plan worked. Bravo, scientists!

watch video

NCFR seeks a paid Education Department intern to contribute to the advancement of department projects. The position will begin on June 3, 2019, for 10 hours per week for the summer, with potential for extension. The successful candidate has: an understanding of research methodology, policy, and Family Life Education; a demonstrated ability to investigate and solve practical problems; proven project management skills; and strong written and verbal communication skills. Current NCFR membership status and an interest in becoming a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) are preferred.

Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
Required Education: Pursuing a degree in a Family Science-related field
Application Deadline: Review begins April 22, 2019; open until filled.

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