University of Colorado at Boulder - Home Page
University of Colorado Home Page Search CU A to Z Index Campus Map University of Colorado Home Page
Institute of Behavioral Science - IBS

November 08, 2009

News | Program News | Archive | Newsletter | Social Gatherings

Jeannette Sutton gave a presentation entitled "Warning Systems, Risk Communication and New Social Media: How Technological Innovation is Changing the Landscape of Disaster" at the Utah Public Official's Conference in Midway, Utah, October 26, 2007.

On October 16, Jeannette Sutton presented recent research and moderated a discussion on Web 2.0 and Emergency Management at the Facebook Headquarters in Palo Alto, CA. Those present include Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate, and a number of executives and privacy officers from Silicon Valley technology companies.

Jeannette Sutton presented a talk entitled "Crisis Communications: What's New?" at the Corporate Security, Business Continuity, and Crisis Management conference hosted by the Conference Board in New York City, October 14, 2009.

Jane Menken's recent laureate honor was highlighted in the Oct 13, 2009, edition of Inside CU. Her award was also featured in the October CU Faculty and Staff Newsletter.

The University of Colorado Population Center (CUPC) and Population Program recently funded five outstanding developmental grants totaling $30,000.

These awards represent an invaluable way to support junior and senior faculty, fund graduate students, bridge programs, and encourage interdisciplinary research. These proposals grapple with central demographic issues and are quite likely to result in cutting-edge research contributions. The CUPC Developmental Grant Review Committee—composed of Fred Pampel and Tim Wadsworth—made the following awards:

The Population Program expects to make similar awards next year.

Dr. Jane Menken, Director of Institute of Behavioral Science, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Honored as Laureate by International Union for the Scientific Study of Population

Jane Menken, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Institute of Behavioral Science, was honored as the 2009 Laureate of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population during the recent quadrennial meeting in Marrakech, Morocco.

The IUSSP Laureate Award was established in 1991 to recognize the life-time achievements of outstanding IUSSP members. The award is based on contributions to the advancement of population sciences and distinguished service rendered to the organization. To be eligible for consideration, an individual must have been a member of the IUSSP for at least 20 years and be nominated by five or more IUSSP members from different countries.

During the award ceremony on Sept 30, 2009, Menken was honored by John Cleland, Professor of Medical Demography at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and current IUSSP President, as well as former students and colleagues. Cleland described Menken as “the great matriarch of demography” and the ultimate facilitator of the discipline. He reviewed her distinguished contributions to the field particularly in developing mathematical models of the reproductive process that initiated a new area of research in reproductive and child health, combined with her contributions to research involving the Matlab Demographic Surveillance System in Bangladesh. Menken’s efforts in research capacity development through the African Population Studies Training Program at CU-Boulder were also lauded.

Former student Alex Ezeh (Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi, Kenya) reminisced about Menken’s influence as a teacher, coach and mentor. Other colleagues, including Professor José Alberto Magno de Carvalho (Brazil) and Professor and Senator of the Italian Parliament Massimo Livi Bacci (Italy), described her organizational impacts on the IUSSP and the Population Association of America, as she has worked to make the associations more accessible and inclusive. Hania Zlotnick, another former student and current Director of the UN Population Division, recalled her first impression of Menken, whom she met soon after Menken had finished her PhD at Princeton. Menken had written a book with Mindel Sheps entitled Mathematical Models of Conception and Birth and Zlotnick had a sense it would be highly influential in the field of fertility studies. Zlotnick noted that the book, like the author, possessed a “light and cheery cover but with heavy content.” She described Menken as an influential scholar “in human form” with both “general intelligence and high emotional intelligence.”

Prior to joining the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1997, Menken was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University. She is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

IBS Building Update

At its meeting on October 16, the University Design Review Board voted to approve the Design Development phase of the IBS building. What that means is that the design of the building is now set, both its interior and its exterior, and the building process can proceed to the preparation by the architects of the actual construction drawings that will be provided to contractors for submitting their bids. If you are interested in seeing what the building will look like and what exterior materials will be used-brick, limestone, stucco, glass, clay roof tiles-there is a large display in the 2nd floor Conference Room of IBS #1. Please feel free to visit and look around and ask questions the Building Committee (Dick, Jane, Steve) will be happy to try to answer. As the schedule now stands, interested contractors will submit pre-proposals in November, and there will be two days of interviews in mid-December with those contractors whose submittals were scored highest. Sealed bids will be opened in March, and the construction contract will be awarded on March 25, 2009. Construction will begin on April 27th and Move-In (!) to the new building is now set for July 15, 2010. Of course, things are likely to change along the way, but the move-in date is, we're assured, firm. We'll continue to keep you informed.

Richard Jessor has joined the Advisory Board of the Urban Population and Health Dynamics (UPHD) Research Program at the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi, Kenya. One facet of the UPHD Research Program, funded by the Wellcome Trust, is concerned with the transition to adulthood among youth in the Nairobi informal settlements (slums), and that longitudinal study is using measures developed here in IBS by Jessor and his colleagues. Jessor participated in the advisory board meeting held in Nairobi August 11-14. He will be returning to Nairobi to consult with members of the transition to adulthood research team, November 17-21.

The University of Colorado Population Center (CUPC) and Population Program recently funded five outstanding developmental grants, which totaled approximately $30,000.

These awards represent an invaluable way to support junior and senior faculty, fund graduate students, bridge programs, and encourage interdisciplinary research. The proposals grapple with central demographic issues and are quite likely to result in cutting-edge research contributions. The CUPC and Population Program Developmental Grant Review Committee – which consisted of Lori Hunter and Jane Menken – made the following awards to CUPC and Population Program affiliates (with their project titles in parentheses):

The Population Program expects to make similar awards next year.

Andrei Rogers has retired from teaching CU. To see photos from Andrei's retirement party, go to Social Gatherings and click on the link to his Power Point Slide Show.

After over 29 years of service, Debbie Ash has retired from CU. To see photos from Debbie's retirement party, go to Social Gatherings and click on the link to her Power Point Slide Show.

If you need general IBS assistance, please contact Steve Graham. If you are trying to reach Jane Menken or Dick Jessor, please contact them directly.

Terry Thornberry is the winner of the 2008 Edwin Sutherland Award of the American Society of Criminology given to “recognize outstanding contributions to theory or research in criminology on the etiology of criminal and deviant behavior, the criminal justice system, corrections, law, or justice. The distinguished contribution may be based on a single outstanding book or work, on a series of theoretical or research contributions, or on the accumulated contributions by a senior scholar.” According to Bob Bursik, President of the American Society of Criminology, the pool of candidates was unusually strong and deep this year but the award committee agreed that Terry clearly merits inclusion among the distinguished prior winners of this prestigious accolade. Congratulations!

Terry will be giving the Sutherland Address at the meetings in St Louis, MO in November.

The 2008 Blueprints Conference was held March 17-19, 2008, at the Adams Mark Hotel in Denver. The Blueprints Conference is a 3-day conference exploring model programs with positive results for youth and their families, hosted by The Blueprints for Violence Prevention Initiative at the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence. The conference drew nearly 1,100 attendees from the U.S. and about a dozen other countries. Conference highlights included presentations by distinguished prevention science expert, Dr. Delbert Elliott and economist, Steve Aos, as well as many other seasoned practitioners in the field. This conference motivated the prevention field to adopt evidence-based programs and provide support, guidance, and tools by program experts to help practitioners implement these programs successfully in their own communities. Visit the Blueprints Conference Website.

The University of Colorado Population Center (CUPC) recently funded six outstanding developmental grants, which total over $40,000. These awards represent an invaluable way to support junior and senior faculty, fund graduate students, bridge programs, and encourage interdisciplinary research. These proposals were remarkably competitive, grapple with central demographic issues, and are likely to result in cutting-edge and significant research contributions. The CUPC Developmental Grant Review Committee – which consisted of Jason Boardman, Andrei Rogers, and Richard Rogers – made the following awards to center affiliates (with their project titles in parentheses): Paula Fomby, Sociology, CU-Denver, and Stefanie Mollborn, Sociology, (Explaining Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Effect of Family Instability on Adolescents’ Behavior), John Hewitt, IBG, and Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Linguistics (Northern Cameroon Language and Genetics Project), David Leblang, Political Science (Social Networks and International Immigration 1960-2004), Ying Lu, Political Science and Sociology (De-convolution Methods with an Application in Verbal Autopsy), Georges Reniers, Population Program, IBS (Partner Selection in Times of HIV/AIDS in Rural South Africa), and Fernando Riosmena, Geography (Evaluating the SES Health Gradients of Mexicans, Migration Selection and Acculturation Hypotheses Using Clinically-Reported Measures).

The Center expects to make similar annual awards over the next several years.

Gilbert F. White remembered

With great sadness, we have to report that our dear friend, colleague, and mentor, Gilbert F. White, known worldwide as the "father of floodplain management" and one of the most distinguished and internationally recognized faculty members at the University of Colorado at Boulder, died on Oct. 5 at his home in Boulder. He was 94.

The world is a better place for having had Gilbert in its midst. Gilbert was that rare combination - a distinguished scientist and an outstanding humanitarian committed to translating scientific evidence into policy and programs to better people's lives. His was a life to celebrate.

Gilbert's family is planning a memorial on Saturday, November 11 at 1pm at the Spice of Life Event Center, 5706 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder.

Memorial gifts can be made to the Gilbert F. White Graduate Research Fellowship in Natural Hazards Mitigation. Checks should be made payable to the University of Colorado Foundation and sent to the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, 482 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0482.

Alternatively, contributions can also be made to the Gilbert White Fellowships, Resources for the Future, 1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.

New York Times |  Washington Post |  Rocky Mountain News |  Boulder Daily Camera

Gilbert's obituary | Gilbert's website | University of Colorado News Release

The University of Colorado Population Center (CUPC) recently funded four developmental grants, totaling $26,467.00. These awards represent an invaluable way to support junior and senior faculty, fund graduate students, bridge programs, and encourage interdisciplinary research.

The CUPC Developmental Grant Review Committee - which consisted of Andrei Rogers, Jason Boardman, and Richard Rogers - made the following awards: Jill Williams, for her project entitled "Temporary Female Labor Migration and Household Survival Strategies in Rural South Africa"; Jani Little, for her project entitled "GIS and Contextual Data: An Archive for Population Research"; Jason Boardman, for his project entitled "Psychological Resiliency as a Heritable Characteristic"; and Lori Hunter for an exploratory trip to consider potential future demographic research projects.

As part of the African Population Studies Research and Training Program Jani Little, Jane Menken, Enid Schatz, and Jill Williams delivered a short course on Longitudinal Data Management and Analysis to twelve students from the University of Colorado, Brown University, the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa), and five interns from the African Population and Health Research Center (Nairobi, Kenya). The course took place June 12-23 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Students learned and used STATA to analyze a sub-sample of the Agincourt Demographic and Health Surveillance System, which has been collected since 1992 in a small rural area of South Africa. Benjamin Clark, data manager for the Agincourt Demographic and Health Surveilance System (ADHSS), assisted instructors and participants as they analyzed the ADHSS for research projects developed during the short course. Lori Hunter, Randall Kuhn, and Jarron Saint Onge also contributed to the course and many of the faculty from IBS consulted with the students during their stay.

Several faculty from IBS participated in the 4th Annual "Wits-Brown-Colorado-APHRC colloquium on Emerging Population Issues" held May 21-25 in Nairobi, Kenya. Funded by the Hewlett Foundation, the colloquium is designed to foster collaboration across participating institutions through the sharing of information on ongoing research, recent findings and plans for the future. The network also aims to strengthen advanced academic training in population studies within sub-Saharan Africa and a special session was held on the topic. This year's colloquium was hosted by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), and prior to the meeting, participants had the opportunity to learn about APHRC's research on population-health issues in sub-Saharan Africa, and also make field site visits to APHRC's demographic surveillance sites in 2 Nairobi slums. Participating in the colloquium were Jane Menken, Jason Boardman, Lori Hunter, Randall Kuhn, Richard Rogers, Enid Schatz, and Georges Reniers. Jill Williams and Steve Graham also served important roles on the organizing committee.


Jane Menken with APHRC director Alex Ezeh.

Dick Jessor and Jane Menken were in Italy and Turkey in late April and early May, 2006. Jessor was an invited speaker at the University of Bologna where he talked to a class in Health Psychology and then gave a public lecture on April 27 in the series "I giovedi di Psicologia" ( Psychology Thursdays") at the new branch of the university in Cesena. On May 4, Jessor served as discussant for an international symposium on "Personal and Social Correlates of Risk Behavior in Adolescence" at the Biennial Meeting of the European Association for Research on Adolescence (EARA), which was held in Antalya, Turkey. On May 5, he presented a keynote address at the meeting. And, on May 9th and 10th, Jessor lectured to an undergraduate class and a graduate class in Developmental Psychology at the University of Torino.

Gilbert F.White honored by CU

The Institute of Behavioral Science is proud to announce that our dear friend and internationally-renowned colleague Gilbert F. White has received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. The award was presented to Gilbert by the Chancellor of the University, Dr. Phil DiStefano at a celebratory reception at the Koenig Alumni Center, May 17, 2006.

Steve Graham, Administrative Officer for IBS, received the Chancellor's Employee of the Year Award from Phil DiStefano in a ceremony on April 19, 2006 in the Aspen Room of the UMC. He was one of only two campus employees to receive the award this year. IBS Director Jane Menken was delighted to introduce Steve to those at the reception and review his considerable achievements. We are excited for him and proud that he is part of our team at the Institute of Behavioral Science. Congratulations Steve, from all of us at IBS!

Richard Rogers, Director of the Population Program, was a recipient of the Excellence in Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work Award from the Boulder Faculty Assembly, April 17, 2006. Emphasis for the award is placed on work of high quality that does not receive recognition through the usual channels such as interdisciplinary research, work accomplished with undergraduate students, or an integrated long-term achievement.

The inaugural 2006 Blueprints for Violence Prevention Conference was held in Denver at the Adams Mark Hotel March 13-15th. This first of its kind conference offered three days of valuable information and discussion, including keynote addresses and breakout sessions that explored model violence, delinquency and drug prevention programs. The goal was to provide support, guidance, and tools to help practitioners implement evidence-based programs successfully in their own communities. Among the speakers were Delbert Elliott, Director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence; David Hawkins, Director of the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington; Michele Ridge, prevention advocate in the State of Pennsylvania during the term of ex-governor Tom Ridge; Robert Flores, Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; Gilbert Botvin, Director, Institute for Prevention Research at Cornell University, and others. The conference drew over 1,000 national and international participants. Evaluations of the conference were overwhelmingly positive, with the general consensus that this conference needs to be repeated.

C.U. TO HONOR GILBERT F.WHITE

At its meeting on March 2nd, the University of Colorado Board of Regents voted to award an Honorary Degree to Gilbert F. White during Commencement ceremonies at the end of Spring semester. This is an extraordinary recognition of the extraordinary achievements of our most senior--and most admired--colleague. Gilbert's contributions across the decades have been legion (see Gilbert F. White website: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/gfw), and he has brought international distinction and renown not only to the University but to the Institute of Behavioral Science, as well. Director of IBS from 1970 to 1980, he established a climate of collaborative collegiality that has characterized its endeavors ever since, and his scholarly leadership has helped to shape the Institute's future. Gilbert was nominated for this award by the IBS Board of Directors, and the nomination was supported by many of the campus' most distinguished faculty and by the Department of Geography. Among his many other achievements, Gilbert was recognized for having reshaped the discipline of geography to encompass natural hazards, for developing a paradigm for flood plain management across the globe, and for establishing the Natural Hazards Center in IBS. We take pride in counting Gilbert a colleague and friend, and IBS congratulates him on this most appropriate and well-deserved award.

Blueprints Conference March 13-15, 2006: Denver Conference To Highlight Model Programs Proven To Reduce Violence, Delinquency And Drug Use

Blueprints Conference News Release

The University of Colorado Population Center (CUPC) recently funded four developmental grants, which total approximately $35,000. These awards represent an invaluable way to support junior and senior faculty, fund graduate students, bridge programs, and encourage interdisciplinary research.

The CUPC Developmental Grant Review Committee - which consisted of Andrei Rogers, Jason Boardman, and Richard Rogers - made the following awards: Randy Walsh and Terra McKinnish, Economics, for their project entitled "Decomposing Neighborhood Change;" Liam Downey, Sociology, for his project entitled "Examining the Determinants of Urban Environmental Inequality in Multiple Metropolitan Areas;" Tania Barham and A. Mushfiq Mobarak, Economics, for their project entitled "Social and Economic Impacts of Electricity Provision: Evidence from the Quasi-Random Placement of Hydroelectric Plants in Brazil;" and Fred Pampel, Sociology, for his project entitled "Socioeconomic Differentiation and Cigarette Use: Changes from Youth to Adulthood."

Sharon Mihalic attended a meeting held by the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) at the Alex Haley Farm in Clinton, Tennessee, December 4 - 7. One in three black baby boys born in 2001 will go to prison at some point in his life. CDF is committed to dismantling the "cradle to prison pipeline." The meeting included presentations, discussion and brainstorming from team members from 10 innovative and successful jurisdictions, as well as some research experts. The goal was to share strategies for success, discuss the common elements of and challenges to developing comprehensive and integrated services, and develop a joint blueprint for change.

Sharon Mihalic attended and presented a paper at the American Society of Criminology Meetings in Toronto November 15-19. Topic: Findings from the Blueprints Replication Initiative: Ensuring Implementation Success.

David Miklowitz, Problem Behavior Faculty Research Associate and professor of psychology, received the Mogens Schou Award for Research at the Sixth International Conference on Bipolar Disorder in June in Pittsburgh. Miklowitz has focused his research on developing effective approaches to educate families affected by bipolar disorder on the many factors contributing to control of the disease and its relapse. The Mogens Schou Awards were named in recognition and appreciation of Mogens Schou, honorary president of the International Society of Bipolar Disorders and emeritus professor at the Psychiatric Hospital in Risskov, Denmark, whose groundbreaking research 50 years ago proved lithium's significant mood-stabilizing effects for the treatment of bipolar disorders. --from Silver & Gold Record December 8, 2005

Terence P. Thornberry, Problem Behavior Director and Director of the Rochester Youth Development Study, was one of only 16 experts invited to speak October 27, 2005 at a White House conference entitled "Helping America's Youth," organized by First Lady Laura Bush. The conference was designed to help communities throughout the country provide better, more scientifically-based programs to help children and adolescents. Thornberry used the Rochester study findings to identify both risk factors for problem behaviors and effective programs for helping at-risk youth.

Please visit the memorial website for Sean Blackburn, who died unexpectedly on September 29, 2005. He worked for IBS Computing and Research Services doing web and GIS work and had a long and distinguished career as a performer of western swing music.

A feature article, "Summit of a career", highlighting Richard Jessor and his career at the University of Colorado and the Institute of Behavioral Science was published in the Rocky Mountain News October 24, 2005.

Richard Jessor has been named distinguished professor. This is the highest honor that CU awards to faculty members. He is one of only 43 faculty members to receive the designation in the history of CU. Congratulations to him for this great and richly deserved honor! His nomination will be approved at the December Board of Regents meeting.

With Richard G. Rogers as principal investigator and director, and Jason Boardman, Lori Hunter, and Andrei Rogers as associate directors, the Research Program on Population Processes received an R21 grant from NICHD for Developmental Infrastructure for Population Research. The award is $924,089 over five years beginning July 7, 2005. Based on the merits of the thirty-year-old research program, the new Population Center will be expanding demographic research and training in the areas of migration and population distribution, health, and environmental demography.

Donated from the files of Richard Jessor, the very first IBS newsletter (December, 1959) was called THE INSTI - TOOTER.

Since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast at the end of August, the Natural Hazards Center has had nearly a hundred requests for interviews from around the world. Kathleen Tierney, director of the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, has appeared on NPR's Face the Nation, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and radio and television shows from coast-to-coast. A partial list of the Center's public appearances is included here. Tierney is also cited in newspapers around the world on the Hurricane Katrina disaster:

"Anger that strong fled while weak perished," The Irish Times, September 14, 2005, World; Other World Stories; Pg. 11, 791 words, Denis Staunton

"Morale Among FEMA Workers, on the Decline for Years, Hits Nadir," The Washington Post, September 14, 2005 Wednesday, Final Edition, Metro; B02 , Federal Diary, Stephen Barr, 750 words, Stephen Barr

"Up for Grabs: Sociologists Question How Much Looting and Mayhem Really Took Place in New Orleans," The Boston Globe, September 11, 2005, Sunday, Third Edition, Pg. E1, 1244 words, By Christopher Shea

"Katrina resettling Gulf Coast," Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA), September 6, 2005, Tuesday, USA; Pg. 01, 1284 words, By Sara B. Miller and Amanda Paulson Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor, Baton Rouge, LA.

"Plan to soften the blows of a natural disaster Disaster Management: Hurricane Katrina showed that most companies are woefully unprepared for natural hazards, concentrating instead on man-made threats. Morgen Witzel says creative thinking ahead can pay off," Financial Times (London, England), September 5, 2005 Monday, London Edition 1, Business Life Business Education; Pg. 12, 970 words, By Morgen Witzel

"Has Terror Hurt Disaster Relief? Some Say Bureaucracy Slows FEMA," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania), September 3, 2005 Saturday, Region Edition, Pg.A-1, 881 words, Karen MacPherson Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"When residents finally return, many face unemployment, debt," The Toronto Star, September 3, 2005 Saturday, National Report; Pg. F02, 858 words, Bill Taylor, Toronto Star

"In Katrina's Aftermath: Chaos and Survival; Survivors Wait as Disaster Builds; Officials say they're doing all they can. Experts had foretold numerous problems," Los Angeles Times, September 2, 2005 Friday, Home Edition, Main News; National Desk; Part A; Pg. 1, 1492 words, Nicole Gaouette and Richard Serrano, Times Staff Writers, Washington

IBS and the Natural Hazards Center have established a new Gilbert F. White website: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/gfw. The site is intended to document Gilbert's long and distinguished career, provide a brief portrait of him as a renaissance scholar and humanist, and serve as a source of information for friends, students, scholars, and others regarding his work.

Back to Top