Grant Foundation Receives Award for Excellence in Youth Research & Programming

 

The William T. Grant Foundation has been selected as the 2016 Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Presidential Citation: Organizational Impact Award for Excellence in Research and Programming for Youth, announced Adam Gamoran, the President of the Foundation. 

 

“It is fitting that the Foundation receives this award, “said John Schulenberg, SRA President. “They have done so much to support research and programming regarding optimal development during adolescence. As our field attempts to make more of a difference in the lives of young people and their families and communities, we see the William T. Grant Foundation as a primary role model for stimulating relevant research and mentoring.”

 

“We are honored to be the inaugural recipient of this award,” said Adam Gamoran, President of the William T. Grant Foundation. “SRA is such a dynamic organization and is so uniquely positioned to help in the dissemination of research on adolescence and to serve as a network for like-minded researchers.” 

 

The newly created award will be presented during the 2016 SRA Conference in Baltimore on March 31, 2016.

 

The William T. Grant Foundation supports research to improve the lives of young people ages 5-25  in the United States. The Foundation’s grantmaking centers on research that has the potential to advance theory, build empirical evidence, and improve policy and practice. Throughout its 80 year history, the Foundation has awarded grants to prominent researchers yielding research that has been pivotal in improving outcomes for youth and the systems in which they develop.

 

In 2014, the Foundation launched a ten-year research initiative to reduce inequality by identifying responses to this fundamental challenge to our nation’s young people. . And since 2009, it has supported a range of studies that provide insight into how policymakers, administrators, and service providers acquire, interpret, and use research evidence, and how research use affects policy and program decisions. This year, the Foundation announced a bold new direction in its research interests, calling for studies that identify, create, and test strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit youth. 

 

The Society for Research on Adolescence is focused on the theoretical, empirical, and policy research issues of adolescence. SRA publishes the Journal of Research on Adolescence, and, through its biennial meetings and publishing efforts, promotes the dissemination of research on adolescents and serves as a network and forum for its members. Since 2007, the William T. Grant Foundation has supported SRA’s Young Scholars Program, which encourages minority undergraduate students to pursue graduate education and research careers focusing on adolescent development.