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Faculty affiliate Swearer launches Empowerment Initiative

Susan M. Swearer, Ph.D.
Susan Swearer

UNL professor Susan Swearer, whose research on bullying has yielded collaborations with the White House and Lady Gaga, has launched a new initiative to support personal, social and cultural acceptance from childhood through adulthood.

Swearer’s Empowerment Initiative will facilitate translational research and outreach efforts designed to foster healthy communities, schools and families free from bullying and other negative behaviors. Full Article

Faculty affiliate McQuillan receives chancellor’s award

Julia McQuillan
Julia McQuillan

CYFS faculty affiliate Julia McQuillan received the Chancellor’s Outstanding Contribution to Women award during a March 12 ceremony at the Nebraska Union.

McQuillan, a professor and chair of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was honored for her efforts to create a climate that encourages women to succeed at the university. Full Article

Faculty affiliate Allen co-develops app for autism

Many scholars envision that their countless hours of research will ultimately yield practical applications. CYFS faculty affiliate Keith Allen recently went a step further by co-developing one – for smartphones and tablets.

Allen, a professor of psychology and pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, has co-created the MySocius app to help parents foster communication and social interaction skills in children with autism. Full Article

Knoche, affiliates studying economic impacts of early childhood investments

As the federal government wrestles with the age-old issue of spending versus saving, three CYFS researchers have embarked on a study to pinpoint the economic value of Nebraska’s investments in early childhood.

CYFS Research Associate Professor Lisa Knoche has teamed with new Faculty Affiliates David Rosenbaum and Eric Thompson to evaluate the fiscal benefits of funding the state’s early childhood education and programs. Full Article

Lady Gaga’s foundation appoints CYFS affiliate Swearer as head of research board

Susan Swearer
Susan Swearer

CYFS Faculty Affiliate Susan Swearer will lead a new research board to advise Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation on its youth empowerment and tolerance programs, the foundation announced this week.

The group also will work to boost the influence of the foundation’s proposals and apply well-founded research to all of the foundation’s upcoming programs. Full Article

Molfese to lead $1.4 million study of toddler sleep habits

CYFS Faculty Affiliates Victoria Molfese (right) and Kathy Rudasill work with a toddler wearing an actigraph that monitors sleep patterns.
CYFS Faculty Affiliates Victoria Molfese (right) and Kathy Rudasill work with a toddler wearing an actigraph that monitors sleep patterns.

ZZZs don’t always come easy for children still learning their ABCs.

Accordingly, three CYFS faculty affiliates are studying the developmental implications of toddlers’ sleep habits – and the factors that might determine whether they sleep like a baby. Full Article