Outreach and Extension Programs
Law, Psychology, and Human Development
Research Community Partnerships
Aging and Life Course Development
Karl Pillemer, Professor
The focus of this extension program is to promote outreach activities in the area of aging and life course development with an emphasis on: promoting social integration in later life, including intervention programs to reduce social isolation among older persons; improving the quality of care provided by employees in nursing homes; and improving cooperation and communication between families and staff in nursing homes. A new program area currently in development explores ways of engaging older persons in environmental volunteering, in collaboration with county Extension Associations in New York State.
Translational Research Institute for Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL)
Karl Pillemer, Professor
Pillemer is a Principal Investigator and Co-Director of a center grant funded by the National Institute on Aging. This grant funds the Translational Research Institute for Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL), one of 13 Edward R. Roybal Centers on Applied Gerontology nationwide. The focus of TRIPLL is on chronic pain. Effective solutions to the problem of later-life pain require translating basic behavioral, social science, and medical research findings more rapidly into programs, practices and policies targeting older adults. TRIPLL supports research on chronic pain in the New York City area and in Ithaca.
Memory, Children and the Law
Charles Brainerd, Professor, Memory and Neuroscience Lab
Valerie Reyna, Professor, Department Extension Leader, Laboratory for Rational Decision Making
This program area involves research and translation of research regarding the nature of children’s learning and memory and includes working directly with teachers and school administrators. The findings of this program of research on memory and cognition can be used in forensic contexts to improve interviewing techniques for child witnesses and victims, so that ultimately their testimony can be a more reliable source of evidence to identify perpetrators.
Translating and Adapting Child Witness Research for the Legal Community
Stephen Ceci, Professor
This program area involves translating voluminous, highly technical scientific literature on child witnesses for juvenile and family court judges, law guardians, and law enforcement professionals. Curricula, briefing books, webcasts and in vivo workshops are prepared for judges all around the US and Canada to help them deal with children in their courts. Ceci is the Principal Investigator and Co-Director for the Cornell Institute for Research on Children, CIRC.
Child Abuse and Neglect
John Eckenrode, Professor, Director, Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research
This program area involves concerns child abuse and neglect, the effects of preventive interventions, translational research, and stress and coping processes. Eckenrode leads a long-term evaluation of the effects of a program of nurse home visitation on the development of high-risk mothers and their children. He is also Director of the National Data Archive of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Research-Community Partnerships
Valerie Reyna, Professor, Department Extension Leader
Karene Booker, Extension Support Specialist
Human Development Outreach & Extension leverages information technology to put the findings from cutting edge research in the hands of Extension Educators and other professionals to support research-community partnerships. This model program has developed a dynamic website that includes multimedia presentations, outreach publications, the new Human Development Today e-News newsletter and a multitude of linked resources representing the extension and outreach activities in the Department.
Women in Science
Wendy M. Williams, Professor, Director, Cornell Institute for Women in Science
Stephen Ceci, Professor, Director, Cornell Institute for Women in Science
The Cornell Institute for Women in Science (CIWS) is a major new outreach initiative that will conduct and disseminate research on women’s careers in science, and related lifecourse issues. Extension activities include national and NYS-wide distribution of outreach materials based on results of CIWS research; implementation of college- and university-based training/education modules on issues affecting women in science, especially at SUNY campuses in NYS; hands-on training sessions at multiple departments at Cornell (e.g., Chemistry, Mathematics) and other SUNY campuses (e.g., Buffalo) focusing on ‘women in science’ issues.
Interventions for Risk Reduction and Avoidance in Youth
Valerie Reyna, Professor, Department Extension Leader
This program area involves a randomized control trial intervention to reduce unhealthy risk taking, especially behaviors that result in premature pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections in high-school aged youth. The application of recent advances in cognitive developmental research to enhance risk reduction programs for adolescents instills new ways of framing risky decisions for adolescents. The outreach aspects of the research include faculty and students educating youth about scientific research, delivering a CDC-approved effective health curricula designed to reduce unhealthy risk taking, and serving as role models to high school and elementary students. Related websites: Risky Decision Making in Adolescents; Laboratory for Rational Decision Making.
Linking Research to the Practice of Youth Development
Stephen Hamilton, Professor, Associate Director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research
This program area focuses on adolescent development and education with emphasis on the the interaction of school, community, and work during the transition to adulthood, especially in the contexts of work experience, experiential learning, community service, and mentoring relationships. A major portion of his responsibility includes developing and supporting 4-H youth development programs through Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Sexual-Minority Adolescents and Young Adults
Ritch Savin-Williams, Professor
This program area focuses on promoting the well-being and resiliency of sexual-minority adolescents and young adults and includes delivering presentations and providing interviews on his book The New Gay Teenager and related issues.
Science Education
Wendy M. Williams, Professor
This program area includes an educational outreach program, Thinking Like a Scientist, for traditionally underrepresented youth. The program is designed to increase their interest and participation in science by teaching them how to reason scientifically about problems in daily life. The program has also been adapted for elementary school students. These K-12 STEM Education Modules are also offered as part of the Women in Science research program.