OSU Researcher receives $ 1.15 million National Science Foundation grant

Monday, September 14, 2009

Tammy Henderson, associate professor in Oklahoma State University’s College of Human Environmental Sciences has received a National Science Foundation grant for more than $1.1 million to study Alaska Native grandparents.  

The research project is titled “From Their Perspective:  Alaskan Grandparents’ Roles, Strengths and Needs” and will investigate Alaska Native grandparents residing in rural, semi-urban and urban areas of Alaska. 

The two-year award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Research will be conducted by meeting with members of Alaskan communities with the main goal of shedding light on the similarities and unique aspects of Alaskan Native grandparents as very few studies have been completed on the Arctic population.

The research team, which includes Gerald Mohatt, director of the Center for Alaska Native Health Research and professor of psychology at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and George Charles, director of the National Resource Center for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Elders at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, plans to examine how the roles, strengths and needs of the grandparents have been affected by factors including traditional practices, community changes, out migration and subsistence.

“I am honored to begin a project that focuses on the strengths, needs, and complexities of Alaska Native grandparents and to work alongside outstanding colleagues, such as Dr. Gerald Mohatt, Dr. George Charles, and Mr. Michael Saville,” Henderson said.

Henderson said the project will also develop outreach documents that will fully inform communities about the research and the research results.

The team expects their findings will contribute to the body of literature on grandparenting, grandparents rearing grandchildren, and diversity among grandparenting, in these and other disciplines such as gerontology, psychology, human development and family science, multicultural diversity, and anthropology.

The project will not only contribute to information and data on grandparents and diversity, but it will also enhance the professional development of the graduate and undergraduate student researchers and serve to mentor future Arctic scientists. 

“Dr. Henderson’s grant from NSF represents the growing awareness by others for the college which has moved increasingly from a place as a national leader to a global leader in the human sciences,” CHES Dean Stephan Wilson said.  “Her research and scholarship in gerontology are recognized among the most important in a subject area that has become increasingly important for societies around the world.”

In 2005, Henderson received funding from the NSF for another study titled “Aging Families in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina”.  The human development and family science faculty member has also done research on family policy, law and diversity, as well as grandparent rights and responsibilities.

To learn more about the College of Human Environmental Sciences at Oklahoma State University got http://ches.okstate.edu.