BCTR in the Fall 2015 Human Ecology Magazine

November 2, 2015

The BCTR's New York State 4-H Youth Development Program is featured on the cover of the Fall Human Ecology Magazine. Also inside, an article introduces the BCTR Faculty Fellows program.

Lighting a Fire: 4-H programs spark New York youth to pursue STEM careers and higher education (pp. 20-25)

Excerpt:

Linking Research and Real Life

In New York, 4-H reaches 170,000 youth across 62 counties. The state organization is anchored at Human Ecology’s Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, where researchers partner with 4-H community educators to develop programs, test new ideas in youth development, and measure outcomes.

Together, BCTR faculty and 4-H leaders are studying the best ways to recruit and retain youth and offering professional development opportunities to 4-H educators, including conferences where faculty share the latest youth development research to educators and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) county leaders.

“BCTR is a natural place for 4-H,” says Elaine Wethington, Bronfenbrenner Center acting director. “Part of the process of translating research is to have faculty interact with practitioners on the ground to co-develop new projects. Connecting with 4-H and its programs provides opportunities to benefi t many more New York youth by allowing our researchers to learn from 4-H and also helping 4-H to improve its programs.”

Andy Turner, New York state 4-H program leader, agrees the partnership is a two-way street that benefi ts 4-H and the College of Human Ecology.

“There are strong similarities between the positive youth development framework that is guiding 4-H and the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development,” he says. “Bringing 4-H into the BCTR allows us to look for ways to integrate youth development practice with emerging research and evidenced-based practice. It’s clear that 4-H is a major player in the extension and outreach mission of the college”

 

Community Connections: Bronfenbrenner Center launches Faculty Fellows program (p. 41)

Excerpt:

Pairing faculty members with community members and extension staff, the college’s Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research this year named three professors to two-year terms as Faculty Fellows. The new program, funded in part by a gift from Evalyn Edwards Milman ’60 and Stephen Milman ’58, MBA ’59, allows professors to pursue research in response to public needs.

“Our aim is to embed the fellows and their students in BCTR activities and have them learn from others doing translational research,” says Elaine Wethington, acting director of BCTR and professor of human development and sociology.

For more on the new fellows, see our recent news post.

Human Ecology Magazine - Fall 2015