Dr. Stephen Russell joined the faculty in Human Development in Family Sciences in the summer of 2015 as the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor of Child Development. Dr. Russell completed his Ph.D. in sociology at Duke University with a concentration in life course studies and demography. After a postdoctoral fellow position at UNC-Chapel Hill, he served as a faculty member at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, the University of California Davis, and most recently at the University of Arizona, where he was the Fitch Nesbitt Endowed Chair in Family and Consumer Sciences and Director of the Frances McClelland Institute for Children, Youth, and Families. At the University of Arizona, he also served as Interim Director of the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Dr. Russell studies adolescent development, with an emphasis on adolescent sexuality, LGBT youth, and parent-adolescent relationships. Much of his research is guided by a commitment to create social change to support healthy adolescent development. He is most proud of his research that has been used to shape local and state policies and laws for school safety. Dr. Russell also notes that his most rewarding work is with trainees. He notes that he works with an amazing group of postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students, and he finds supporting their development and learning from them to be the most satisfying part of his job.
Dr. Russell has been involved in community and professional organizations throughout his career, including as Human Relations Commissioner in several cities (Durham, NC; Davis, CA; Tucson, AZ), and currently as chair of the Board of Directors of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). He has been an elected board member of the National Council on Family Relations (2005-2008) and is Past-President of the Society for Research on Adolescence.
