Urie Bronfenbrenner and Stephen Ceci 1993 Lecture

Urie Bronfenbrenner and Stephen Ceci delivering the James Mark Baldwin Developmental Forum Lecture at the University of Alabama - Birmingham on March 29, 1993.

The Developing Ecology of Human Development

The Developing Ecology of Human Development: Paradigm Lost or Paradigm Regained?

Urie Bronfenbrenner at the University of California - Berkeley in the 1980's.

First introduction by Dr. Campos, second introduction by Dr. John A. Clausen, then director of the Institute of Human Development at Berkeley.

The American Family: Who Cares?

Urie Bronfenbrenner recorded by Cornell University Media Services in August 1976.

Revisiting Urie’s role as Head Start turns 50

Lady Bird Johnson at an early Head Start event

A recent Cornell Chronicle article on Urie Bronfenbrenner's involvement in the founding of the National Head Start Program begins,

Testifying before Congress in 1964, Cornell developmental psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner urged lawmakers to fight “poverty where it hits first and most damagingly – in early childhood.”Intrigued by his work, Lady Bird Johnson invited Bronfenbrenner to tea at the White House, where he shared his findings on early childhood programs he had observed abroad. In January 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, Sargent Shriver empaneled 13 experts – including Bronfenbrenner – to develop a federally funded preschool program for the nation’s poorest children.

The article goes on to detail Urie's unique contributions to the formation of the influential program:

Among Head Start’s architects, Bronfenbrenner stood out for his dynamic systems theory of human development – which became synonymous with the field of human ecology and inspired the renaming of Cornell’s College of Human Ecology in 1969. A champion of field-based observations in children’s homes, schools and neighborhoods, Bronfenbrenner upended the conventions of mid-20th century developmental psychology, which had taken a decontextualized, sterilized approach.

For Bronfenbrenner, it wasn’t enough to look narrowly at children. To understand the effect of a mother’s employment on a child’s development, for example, he urged investigators to consider the child’s age, the quality of daycare in the mother’s absence, her attitude toward her work, the family’s race and income level and the father’s employment status and attitude toward his partner’s work and family duties.

 

50 years later, recalling a founder of Head Start - Cornell Chronicle

The BCTR (and Urie!) in Human Ecology Magazine

The spring issue of Human Ecology Magazine features the BCTR prominently - including a cover story on Urie Bronfenbrenner, for whom the center is named. Also inside are: a story on BCTR director Karl Pillemer's new book, 30 Lessons for Loving (p.28); briefs on the Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life and the new Obesity Prevention Center in the Division of Nutritional Sciences with multiple BCTR ties (p. 10 and p. 11, respectively); a photo of John Eckenrode with Bronfenbrenner Lecturer Richard Lerner and one of Iscol Lecturer Maria Pacheco (p. 51).

As a child on walks with his father in the woods, they played a game, guessing why certain plants grew in certain places and not others - light, water, and soil determining which plants thrived where. These early hikes with his amateur botanist father were fundamental in forming Urie's perspective that human development must be viewed in a wider context of interacting influences to be understood. The HE Magazine cover article expands on Urie's forming his ecological systems theory of human development, his influence as a professor on today's top thinkers in the field, his passionate and open work ethic, and his strong conviction that research must engage with and affect policy and practice. BCTR director Karl Pillemer notes,

We have the good fortune of being named after an individual whose life and career epitomizes the work our center does. People working in agencies, health care settings, and social services help scientists set scholarly priorities, find the most interesting research questions, and help us get our research findings out to people who can actually use them. Urie modeled that.

Human Ecology Magazine - Spring 2015

The Legacy of Urie Bronfenbrenner

Evans, Sternberg, Wethington, Ceci, Hamilton, and Eckenrode

The BCTR is named in honor of Urie Bronfenbrenner, the renowned developmental psychologist who taught at Cornell for over fifty years. This September 18th a panel of Cornell faculty reflected on Urie's enduring legacy in the field. In his introduction, BCTR director John Eckenrode expressed the hope that the panel discussion would rectify a knowledge gap among newer members of the College of Human Ecology (CHE) and the university about Urie and his importance to human development and the college as a whole.  The panel was moderated by BCTR associate director Stephen Hamilton.

The panelists were all professors of human development who were influenced by Urie's work. All but Sternberg were also colleagues of Urie's in the CHE department of human development. Elaine Wethington, center associate director, was co-author with Bronfenbrenner, Stephen Ceci, and others on The State of Americans: This Generation and The Next. Stephen Ceci worked on Urie's research projects in the 1980s. Gary Evans  took a class with Urie as a faculty member and went on to  co-teach with Urie. Robert Sternberg was acquainted with Urie and feels the impact of Urie's research in his own work.

Gary Evans

Gary Evans noted that, while the impact of Urie's research is profound, he was also an engaged and influential teacher. Evans quotes Urie himself on teaching:

As a teacher, I have seen as my main goal enabling students to experience the adventure, and hard-won harvest, of disciplined, creative thought that goes beyond any one discipline. To be sure transmitting knowledge is also important, but today’s knowledge is sure to be surpassed by tomorrow’s. Thus, the greatest gift one can give to the young is to enable them to deal critically and creatively with new answers, and the new questions, that the future brings.

In the event video, Evans refers to this quote and to figures in a handout, which can be seen here.

Stephen Hamilton relayed a story of Urie testifying before a senate committee and being asked what it takes to produce a well-functioning human being. Urie replied, simply, "Somebody's gotta be crazy about the kid."

For an anecdote about the strange, interesting story about Urie and the naming of the College of Human Ecology, see minute 15:40 of the event video.

Panelists recall legacy of Urie Bronfenbrenner - Cornell Chronicle

Center fall event videos now online

Three videos from our major fall events are now online in case you missed them, or want to revisit the events. All are permanently archived in our media library and direct links to the videos can be found below.

2014 Iscol Lecture: WAKAMI: A Value Chain that Connects and Transforms People and the Earth
Monday, October 6, 2014

Maria Pacheco, Founder and CEO, Wakami

2014 Bronfenbrenner Lecture: "Making Human Beings Human:” Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Vision for Understanding and Enhancing Positive Human Development
September 23, 2014

Richard M. Lerner, Applied Developmental Science; Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University

The Legacy of Urie Bronfenbrenner
September 18, 2014

Welcome by John Eckenrode, director, BCTR
Panelists:
Stephen Ceci, Helen L. Carr Professor of Developmental Psychology
Gary Evans, Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of Human Ecology
Robert Sternberg, Professor of Human Development
Elaine Wethington, Professor of Human Development; associate director, BCTR
Moderated by Stephen Hamilton, Professor of Human Development; associate director, BCTR

The Legacy of Urie Bronfenbrenner

September 18, 2014

Welcome by John Eckenrode, director, BCTR
Panelists:
Stephen Ceci, Helen L. Carr Professor of Developmental Psychology
Gary Evans, Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of Human Ecology
Robert Sternberg, Professor of Human Development
Elaine Wethington, Professor of Human Development; associate director, BCTR
Moderated by Stephen Hamilton, Professor of Human Development; associate director, BCTR

The Legacy of Urie Bronfenbrenner, Thursday, September 18, 2014

The Legacy of Urie Bronfenbrenner
Stephen Ceci, Gary Evans, Robert Sternberg, Elaine Wethington

Thursday, September 18, 2014
4:00-5:00pm
Ten-Eyck Room, Nevin Welcome Center The Plantations

This event will feature leading faculty in the College of Human Ecology reflecting about Urie Bronfenbrenner’s impact on current research and practice and on their own work. The format will be an interactive, informal conversation.

Inaugural Event

September 21, 2011

Remarks by:
Alan Mathios, Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean, College of Human Ecology
John Eckenrode, director, BCTR

Informal panel conversation with former Urie Bronfenbrenner students:
Nan Crouter, Raymond E. and Erin Stuart Schultz Dean, College of Health and Human Development, Penn State
Jim Garbarino, Professor; Maude C. Clarke Chair in Humanistic Psychology, Loyola University Chicago
David Olds, Professor, University of Colorado - Denver