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In 1948, under Melba S. Lehner’s leadership the Department
indicated an intense interest and commitment to education
for a healthy marriage, family living and parenting. In a
co-partnership with the Utah State Department of Education
and the Ogden City Schools, a Family Life Institute was
started with a two-day conference being the main focus. This
conference addressed current issues facing families of the
time.
Dr. Ernest G. Osborne came to the Weber College Campus in
1948 to address the theme "Guiding Growing Children". Dr.
Osborne was from Columbia University in New York and had
recently returned from China where he had been a consultant
of the China Aid Council.
"Today’s Children – Tomorrow’s Adults" was the theme of the
1950 Family Life Conference. Mrs. Sidonie Matsner Gruenberg,
author and lecturer in Parent Education at New York
University was the conference keynote.
"Growing Up In An Atomic Age" was the theme of the 1954
conference with Judson T. Landis, Associate Professor of
Family Sociology, University of California, Berkeley as the
lecturer and consultant.
The conference was not held again for a few years. In the
late 1970’s, national news magazines, professional journals
and popular media were telling the world that the American
Family was in a state of decline and deterioration. Social
problems were evident in all levels of society and said to
be due to the breakdown of the family.
The Child and Family Studies faculty met in the spring and
the fall of 1980 to discuss and set goals for the department,
and at the same time plans were made to revise and upgrade
the past Family Life Conference.
The Families Alive Conference, in its current format,
originated in 1980 with the Child & Family Studies faculty
at Weber State University. The original and continuing goal
of the conference is to dispel the pervasive myth that all
families are dysfunctional and instead champion the
successes of everyday families. The faculty wanted to share
positive information and attitudes about the current
American family with students, colleagues, and the
community.
The department continues to offer this important conference
on an annual or biannual basis. Through the contributions of
various agencies, institutions, and foundations throughout
the intermountain area, the Families Alive Conference has
been a rewarding experience to thousands of individuals, and
has benefited families in innumerable ways.
Through the donation of numerous student and faculty
volunteer hours and generous financial gifts from the Junior
E. and Blanche B. Rich foundation and Annie Clark Tanner
Endowment, the department has been able to sponsor nationally
and locally recognized family experts to present at the
conferences. These professionals have included Dr. Carlfred
Broderick, Dr. James Lynch, Dr. Steven Glenn, Dr. David Elkind,
Dr. Burton White, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, Dr. Bettye Caldwell,
Dr. Norris Haynes, Richard Louve, Maya Angelou, Guadalupe
Lara, and Henry Winkler.
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GOALS |
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| 1. |
Learn creative ways to enhance the lives of adults,
children and families. |
| 2. |
Gain powerful methods of problem solving, teaching
and advocacy. |
| 3. |
Experience fun techniques to energize and strengthen
your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. |
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