Changing life course patterns.

Brannon, Patsy M.

Life course studies are becoming more central to our understanding of the needs of individuals, families, and communities as we experience ever more rapid changes in our world today. The demographics of our country are changing, we are living longer, gender roles are continuing to change, globalization is altering our economy and our interactions, and the Digital Revolution is reshaping our work, our learning, our play, and even our homes. The cumulative effects of the decisions we make over time shape the patterns and trajectories of our lives. As noted in the report of the 1999 Provost's Task Force on the Future of the Social Sciences at Cornell, "the timing and sequencing of transitions (moving from school to work, getting married or divorced, having a child, changing careers, becoming unemployed, or retiring from the workforce) are key to subsequent life changes and life quality." While we know that these transitions have become more dynamic and individually varied than in the past, we still have much to learn about the ways in which the life course patterns are changing and how these changes will impact our own lives, our families, our communities, and our institutions. With this expanding knowledge we will continue to inform the development of sound, research-based, and effective policies to recognize and support this diverse array of changing life course patterns.

This issue of Human Ecology focuses on the Life Course, one of three strategic initiatives in our college (along with Health and Genomics). The theme of Life Course Transitions and Social Policy has been identified as a promising area of interdisciplinary research in the social sciences at Cornell and is integral to the university-wide priority to enhance the humanities and social sciences.

The Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center (BLCC), established more than ten years ago by Phyllis Moen, the Ferris Family Endowed Professor in Life Course Studies, with the support of Dean Emerita Francille Firebaugh, has stimulated and enhanced life course scholarship at Cornell and will continue to do so through its research, outreach, seminar series, and innovative seed grants program. Professor Moen's vision and leadership have made BLCC a nucleating force in the development of life course studies in our college and across campus. Professor Moen is in the midst of her own life course transition, having left the directorship of the BLCC this past July. For the next year, she will be the director of the Careers Institute within the BLCC. We will miss her leadership of the BLCC, and we wish her well in her life course transitions. You will read more about her research in this issue's article "Template of Our Lives." During the coming year we will be conducting a national search for an outstanding scholar in life course studies to become the next director of BLCC.

In the last two years, our college has actively recruited five new faculty in Life Course Studies and related areas--in the Departments of Policy Analysis and Management (Assistant Professors Rachel Dunifon, Kara Joyner, Ray Swisher, and Maureen Waller) and Design and Environmental Analysis (Assistant Professor Nancy Wells). These new faculty join our continuing faculty with interests in the life course in the Departments/Division of Human Development (Professors Phyllis Moen and Karl Pillemer and Associate Professors Steven Cornelius and Elaine Wethington), Design and Environmental Analysis (Professor Gary Evans), Nutritional Sciences (Professors Christine Olson and Associate Professors Carol Devine and Jeffery Sobal), and Policy Analysis and Management (Professor Elizabeth Peters). Our faculty study life course patterns and pathways from multidisciplinary perspectives: demography, human development, community nutrition, public policy, and sociology. You will read about their research in this issue.

Our students benefit from the college's life course perspective in their courses and undergraduate research experiences, as you will read in the alumni profiles of Amy Silino and Robert Swierupski in this issue. Similarly, the citizens of New York State and the nation benefit from research and outreach/extension work on issues related to the complex needs and resources that people face during various life stages and transitions. Research at the college will continue to help inform policy agendas for our communities, state, and nation and to enhance life quality throughout the 21st century.

Patsy M. Brannon, Ph.D., R.D.

Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean