The Center for Research on Families has an over forty-year history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Established in the 1970s as the Center for the Family, a generous endowment by Dorothy Dunklee Gavin (‘43) and Joseph G. Gavin, Jr. in 1996 ensured a strong and sustainable future for the Center. In 2003, the original Center for the Family expanded into today's Center for Research on Families (CRF).

Today, CRF is a joint center of the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS). Its programs are supported by CNS, SBS, the Edna Skinner and Tay Gavin Erickson endowments, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement, grants, and alumni and corporate gifts. CRF's unique model of collaboration speaks to its primary mission of supporting interdisciplinary and translational research activities on-campus.