Bronfenbrenner To Receive Honorary Degree

March 17, 2000
University Park, Pa. – Penn State’s Board of Trustees approved today (March 17) the granting of an honorary doctorate of humane letters to developmental psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner, who has played an active role in the design of developmental programs in the United States and was one of the founders of Head Start.

Bronfenbrenner will receive the honorary degree at the August 2000 commencement ceremony at University Park. He will also serve as the commencement speaker.

Bronfenbrenner is the Jacob Gould Sherman Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and of Psychology at Cornell University. From the very beginning of his scholarly work, Bronfenbrenner has pursued three mutually reinforcing themes: developing theory at the frontiers of developmental science, applying his research to public policy and practice, and teaching.

His current research is focusing on how complex interactions between humans and their environment further the development of healthy behaviors and reduce dysfunctional behaviors in children and adults. Other areas include a study of developmental processes in middle adulthood and old age.

Born in Moscow, Russia, in 1917, Bronfenbrenner came to the United States at the age of six. He received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and music from Cornell University in 1938 and later received his doctoral degree in developmental psychology from the University of Michigan in 1942.

Bronfenbrenner’s widely published contributions include "The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design," published in 1979. His distinguished achievements have won him awards both in the United States and abroad, including the Stanley Hall Award from the American Psychological Association in 1985. He has also received the Merrill-Palmer citation in 1971 and the Kurt Lewin Memorial Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in 1977, among others.

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Contact: Karen Trimbath, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or at .