In the News

Sue LimberIFNL Professor Honored by APA

August 2011 - Dr. Susan Limber, Dan Olweus Distinguished Professor, recently recieved the 2011 Distinguished Career Award from the American Psychological Association's (APA) Division of Psychologists in Public Service.

Limber's work on prevention of bullying has been recognized as exemplary by three federal agencies, and it has served as the basis for the federally funded design of a national public information campaign.  In further recognition of this work, Limber recieved the APA's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest in 2004.  Prof. Limber's consultation on the media campaign, "Stop Bullying Now," also was recognized with a National Telly Award and an Award of Excellence from the National Associaiton of Government Communicators.  She is a past chair of the APA Committee on Children.

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program founder honored

August 2011 - Dan Olweus, PhD, adjunct faculty member of the Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, is the recipient of the 2011 American Psychological Association (APA) Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology. Honored for his lifelong commitment to understand bullying among children and to create safe and humane school settings, Dr. Olweus is recognized as a world expert and pioneer in research on bully/victim problems.  He is a global leader in raising awareness about the nature and prevalence of bullying, its potentially serious consequences and the adult behaviors that allow bullying to occur.

Dr. Olweus developed an internationally recognized bullying-prevention program while a psychology professor at the University of Bergen, Norway.  The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is a comprehensive, schoolwide program designed for use in elementary, middle or junior high schools. The Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life is leading efforts in the United States to implement the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.

Jill McLeighIFNL Student Honored by APA

August 2011 - Jill McLeigh, a PhD student in Clemson's International Family and Community Studies program, was named the 2011 Outstanding Student by the American Psychological Association's (APA) Division of Psychologists in Public Service for her work to improve the wellbeing of immigrants and refugees, people with mental illnesses and families of young children.  McLeigh, currently an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Maryland, is coordinating a project in military sociology, focusing in part on the well-being of military families.

IFNL Staff and Family and Community Studies Certificate Graduate Selected as Presidential Management Fellow Finalist

April 2011 - Lori Bailey, IFNL staff and graduate of Clemson University's Masters in Public Administration Program and the International Family and Community Studies Certificate Program, is one of two Clemson University graduate students that have been named as finalists in the 2011 Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program.  The PMF program is a flagship leadership development program that seeks to empower future government leaders.  For more information about the Presidential Management Fellows Program, please visit: www.pmf.gov.

IFNL Student Receives the Vera Paster Award from the American Orthopsychiatric Association

October 2009 - Arelis Moore de Peralta (MD, MPH, MEd), Doctoral (PhD) Student in International Family and Community Studies, was honored for her dedication and creativity in developing and implementing services for Latino families in Upstate South Carolina.  As a part-time graduate assistant, she has led the development of a community center - Cafe' Cultura - in an area with a dramatically increased Hispanic population and few ethnically specific services.  Cafe' Cultura has several ambitious goals:  to enhance a sense of belonging, nurture supportive relationships, increase knowledge of community resources, develop indigenous leadership, and establish partnerships for linquistically and culturally appropriate studies.  Dr. Moore has impressively engaged undergraduate Spanish-language students in services to recent immigrants.  With humanistic values, expertise in public health, and broad education in community life, Dr. Moore shows great promise as a leader in strengthening communities and promoting mental health.

Susan Limber named to Olweus ProfessorshipSue Limber

May 2009 - Susan P. Limber has been named the first Dan Olweus Distinguished Professor in the Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life. The newly established professorship will focus on the prevention of bullying and other forms of aggression toward children.

Dr. Limber’s appointment to the professorship marks 10 years of national leadership in bullying prevention by IFNL. The institute has led in the development of a network of research-based programs for bullying prevention, serving as the hub for dissemination of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program in the US.

The professorship is established in recognition of Dr. Dan Olweus of the University of Bergen, Norway. Olweus is an internationally recognized scholar on bullying prevention. The professorship is made possible by contributions of a team of authors of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program materials, including Clemson University faculty members, and program directors for the Olweus program in the US.

Professor Limber’s work on the prevention of bullying served as the scientific foundation for the design of a national public information campaign. The Stop Bullying Now! web-based campaign is currently in its fifth year. The campaign has achieved 14,000 airings of public service announcements seen by 150 million Americans, the viewing of DVDs by children in 66,000 schools, and up to 20,000 visits per week to the website.

Limber and CU psychology professor, Robin Kowalski, researched the phenomenon of cyber bullying, resulting in a published book and development of a school curriculum.

Formerly a James Marshall Public Policy Fellow for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Limber has focused her research and writing on legal and psychological issues related to youth violence, child protection, and children’s rights. She received the Saleem Shah Award from the American Psychology-Law Society for early career excellence in law and policy. Limber received the APA’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest for her work with the national public information campaign.

She earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and an MA, Master of Legal Studies, and PhD from the University of Nebraska.

IFNL Receives Ittleson AwardItelson award

April 2009 - The Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life was awarded the Blanche F. Ittleson Award by the American Orthopsychiatric Association for its “innovation, leadership, and dedication in the design, implementation, and study of strategies to strengthen community support for families in South Carolina, the Nation, and the World.”

Noting the respect for human rights in which IFNL work is grounded, Ortho recognized the emphasis on personal and social significance of the protection of relationships in the family and community.  With the award, Ortho recognized that the IFNL design of strategies relies on the transformation – and sometimes development of - primary community institutions. These strategies have the common element of ensuring that “people don’t have to ask” for help in everyday settings. Relying on “natural” community assets, IFNL faculty and staff have applied this idea in building and evaluating systems for personal safety and family support in schools, early childhood centers, churches, grassroots organizations, and whole communities.

Systems developed by IFNL are capable of responding to the needs of adolescent parents, recent immigrants, families of prisoners, and families in crisis, according to the citation. Not only have immediate needs been met in ways that are respectful of communities, but IFNL has provided models useful in diverse cultural contexts. IFNL has also developed a unique international doctoral program and related partnerships abroad.

Video Lectures

RobinKimbrough-Melton on Buildng Dreams.
Doris Cole on Strong Communities.
Mark Small on Compassion Grants.
Sue Limber on Bullying Prevention.

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