Carlson to Deliver First Lecture in Kahn Institute Series

Mary Carlson, scientific director of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, will give the first talk in the newly established Kahn Liberal Arts Institute series this year.

Carlson will speak about the behavioral and neuroendocrinological consequences of social deprivation in institutional Romanian children on Friday, September 18, at 4:30 p.m. in McConnell B-05 in the Science Center. The presentation will be preceded by a reception at 4 p.m.

The Chicago neighborhoods project is a major interdisciplinary study aimed at deepening society's understanding of the causes and pathways of juvenile delinquency, adult crime, substance abuse and violence.

The Kahn Institute, established last spring at Smith, is "an incubator for new directions and new linkages across the Smith academic community," says its director, Marjorie Senechal, Louise Wolff Kahn Professor of Mathematics.

Through research, collaboration among faculty, students, visiting scholars and Smith alumnae, symposia, performances exhibitions and workshops, the institute will address at least one major theme each year.

This year's theme "Exploring Ecologies of Childhood," will investigate the ways in which the sometimes conflicting environments in which today's children live-the family (or families), the day care center, the school-are interrelated and how success in one often depends on the adequacy of another.

Through the course of the year institute participants will identify major research issues and will frame specific public policy recommendations designed to foster healthy child development. The project is expected to lay the groundwork for Smith to become a leader in the study of child development.

Carlson's talk is free and open to the public.