Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series 2008-2009
Spring 2009
ALEX J. ZAUTRA Ph.D
Foundation Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University
"Resilience: More than a Metaphor"
Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 4pm
521B Tobin Hall
We know from anecdote and research, science and art, that human resilience is a powerful, seemingly ubiquitous force. What is needed is a better understanding of the properties, applications, and variations of that concept. In this talk, I offer a road map for future research guided by past and present empirical evidence. I begin by defining Resilience as a natural capacity for sustainability of purpose and recovery from adversity, shaped by social-cultural forces within communities. Using data from a series of studies on chronic pain I illustrate how resilience is more than a metaphor, advocate methods for research on resilience across the life-span, and open discussion of innovative interventions designed to further resilience within people and across communities.
Fall 2008
ARTHUR F. KRAMER, Ph.D.
Swanlund Chair and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience University of Illinois
"Fitness & Cognitive Training: Influence on Cognition and Brain Structure/Function"
Thursday, December 11, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
620 Thompson Hall
This presentation will discuss the relationship between cognitive training, fitness training, and intellectual engagement on cognition and brain function of older adults, including the breadth of their effects on cognition and dementia. The discussion will include a description of results from a thirty-five year fitness study and results from a recent study examining changes in cognition and brain function in response to improvements in the aerobic fitness of healthy older adults.
Professor Kramer’s research projects include topics in Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Aging, and Human Factors. A major focus of his labs recent research is the understanding and enhancement of cognitive and neural plasticity across the lifespan. He is the Director of the Biomedical Imaging Center and Co-Director of the NIH Center for Healthy Minds. Professor Kramer served as an Associate Editor of Perception and Psychophysics and is currently a member of seven editorial boards. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society, a member of the executive committee of the International Society of Attention and Performance, and a recent recipient of a NIH Ten Year MERIT Award. Professor Kramer’s research has been featured in a long list of print, radio and electronic media including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, CBS Evening News, Today Show, NPR and Saturday Night Live.
W. STEVEN BARNETT, Ph.D.
Director, National Institute for Early Education Research
Rutgers University
"Early education, parenting education, and parent involvement: what works and what doesn't"
Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.
620 Thompson Hall
W. Steven Barnett is a Board of Governors Professor and Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. His research includes studies of the economics of early care and education including costs and benefits, the long term effects of preschool programs on children's learning and development, and the distribution of educational opportunities. Dr. Barnett earned his Ph.D. in economics at the University of Michigan.
Recent publications include Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects:
Research and Policy Implications; The State of Preschool 2007: State Preschool Yearbook, the fifth in a series of annual reports profiling state-funded pre-kindergarten programs in the United States, and "Early Childhood Program Design and Economic Returns: Comparative Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Abecedarian Program and Policy Implications" with Leonard Masse for Economics of Education Review (2007).
Publications can be found on the NIEER website by clicking here.
The Tay Gavin Erickson Lectures began in 1999 though an endowment established in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson.
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