Recent activities by the faculty of the Department of Child and Family Studies include:
- THe WSU Family Literacy Project was recognized as a Literacy Partner by the Deseret Media Corporation. The program was featured in a KSL TV News report (see the news report here).
- Chloe Merrill is serving as President of the Association of Affiliated Councils of the National Council on Family Relations. She has also served as a National Board Member of the National Council on Family Relations
- Faculty members Wei Qiu, Cuauhtemoc Carboni, and Volkan Sahin were awarded a Hemmingway Collaborative grant to study childhood obesity in the Ogden area. Their project entitled "Moving away from childhood obesity: A multidimensional intervention program in Head Start" seeks to evaluate classroom activities to reduce childhood obesity. Several students have been involved with this project as well.
- Faculty members Wei Qiu, Volkan Sahin, and Paul Schvaneveldt were awarded a grant from the Moyes Endowment to study how children percieve family in four different cultures (China, Ecuador, USA, and Turkey). This study seeks to understand how children view family and roles within families across different cultures.
- Paul Schvaneveldt recently returned from Ecuador after serving as a Fulbright Scholar where he conducted research on parent-child relationships, marital relationships, and taught a graduate course on marital dynamics.
- Paul Schvaneveldt is currently serving as the Chair of the International Section of the National Council on Family Relations
- Children's School teachers Sherrie West and Amy Cox have written two activity books for teachers of young children: Sand and Water Play and Literacy Play are available through Gryphonhouse Publishers
- Paul Schvaneveldt, along with Jeff Tesch at the Ogden Head Start, were awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide marriage education to the parents of head start children in Ogden. The Healthy Marriage project was awarded over $200,000 over the next five years and will serve both single parents and married couples.