DATE: June 8, 2009

TUCSON, ARIZ. - The University of Arizona’s Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families has received a $200,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to conduct research on school safety as associated with adolescents’ experiences of gender, sexuality and conformity.

According to Stephen T. Russell, Ph.D., director of the Frances McClelland Institute, past research has focused on the connection between student sexuality and gender norms, and overall health or student well-being. The McClelland Institute study will use existing data from student and teacher surveys compiled over the last decade, plus supplemental research, to examine how schools, districts and state education systems can implement programs and policies to improve student safety and create social change.

"We're seeing a surge in the number of states and communities that are developing comprehensive student anti-bias and safety laws, and the formation of strong coalitions of nonprofit organizations that work in this arena," Russell said. “We believe our research will help identify gaps in knowledge that could provide the basis for inclusion of more attention to gender and sexuality in school curriculum, policy and research."

Russell, a leader in research on adolescent sexuality, has studied bias in schools and its effect on students and school climates over the past 10 years. He will lead the research team, which will include a full-time postdoctoral trainee, part-time graduate research assistants, undergraduate research assistants who will earn course credits for participation in the project, and a project coordinator.

"Our hope is that this research will set the stage for development of a network of scholars and advocates who will work together to influence the enforcement of policies ensuring the safety and well-being of all school children, regardless of their gender, sexual identity, race or ethnicity, religion or social class," Russell said.

The Frances McClelland Institute is part of the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer sciences, which brings together academics, students, business and community leaders who have a common desire to strengthen families, communities and the global marketplace.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

The grant proposal process was managed by the Grant, Information, Facilitation and Training (GIFT) Center at The University of Arizona Foundation.

The UA Foundation is one of the largest foundations in Arizona, raising more than $100 million annually. Managing an asset base of nearly $500 million, the UA Foundation has helped generate more than $2 billion in private funding to support The University of Arizona.