Virginia Tech Human Development & Family Science

Virginia Tech Human Development & Family Science Department of HDFS in the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Check out some of the labs in our department!

The faculty of the HDFS is committed to understanding and improving the lives of people of all ages through our education, research, and outreach activities. We strive to accomplish the following in all our endeavors:

Build caring communities for learning and working with each other, with students, and with the people we serve. Accept and value diversity; we appreciate differences in people, fami

lies, and ideas. Convey that every family has value and that learning should take place in an environment of mutual respect and tolerance. Provide opportunities to learn how to help people live and work in caring relationships, families, organizations, and communities. Facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and skills that will help people resolve individual, interpersonal, family, organizational, and social problems. Children's Emotions Lab (Dr. Cindy Smith): https://www.facebook.com/VTtechkids

VT Learning and Development Lab (Dr. Caroline Hornburg): https://www.facebook.com/VTLearnLab

CoDeS Lab (Dr. Koeun Choi): https://bit.ly/3vMgZfc

The Human Development and Family Science Department would like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Karen Roberto on her...
09/05/2026

The Human Development and Family Science Department would like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Karen Roberto on her retirement, following her amazing and impactful career in gerentology! We have been so fortunate to have you as a Distinguished Professor in our department.

To read more about Dr. Roberto's legacy throughout her decades-long career at Virginia Tech, please read this VT News article: https://news.vt.edu/articles/2026/08/karen-roberto-retirement.html

Thanks to all the students and faculty who came out for the first HDFSSA event of the year. We had a great time playing...
09/04/2026

Thanks to all the students and faculty who came out for the first HDFSSA event of the year. We had a great time playing games, making friends and building a strong community in HDFS. Stay on the lookout for our next event. Until then, keep up the great work. We are lucky to have all of you in HDFS.

This week for our Friday Faculty Spotlight, we have Mauro Anastacio! Mauro recently started at ECCA as the therapeutic p...
09/04/2026

This week for our Friday Faculty Spotlight, we have Mauro Anastacio! Mauro recently started at ECCA as the therapeutic program manager. We are so lucky to have him in the HDFS family. ❤️

Let's give a warm welcome to new PhD student, Ki Yan Ip! Ki is a first year student in the Marriage and Family Therapy c...
09/02/2026

Let's give a warm welcome to new PhD student, Ki Yan Ip! Ki is a first year student in the Marriage and Family Therapy concentration. Welcome again, Ki!

Happy Tidbit Tuesday!
09/01/2026

Happy Tidbit Tuesday!

We are so fortunate to have the wonderful Dr. Katherine Allen teaching our graduate students in HD5006: Theories in HDFS...
08/31/2026

We are so fortunate to have the wonderful Dr. Katherine Allen teaching our graduate students in HD5006: Theories in HDFS this semester!

Dr. Allen has been a professor emerita in the HDFS department since 2020, and she is graciously returning to lend her expertise to the future generation of HDFS scholars. Swipe to read her thoughts about returning!

The first week of classes is already over! Swipe to see pics of some of our graduate students happy to be back in school...
08/29/2026

The first week of classes is already over! Swipe to see pics of some of our graduate students happy to be back in school! 🍎📚👩🏽‍🏫✏️

We are thrilled for doctoral candidate, Lauren Pittman, for being awarded the 2026 Jessie Bernard Outstanding Research P...
08/28/2026

We are thrilled for doctoral candidate, Lauren Pittman, for being awarded the 2026 Jessie Bernard Outstanding Research Proposal from a Feminist Perspective from the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR)!

The proposal submitted for this award is Lauren's dissertation work which focuses on the lived experience of bisexual+ women as they interpret messages from their families related to sexuality. Individuals who are attracted to more than one gender, known as bisexual+, often experience unique forms of prejudice as they are excluded from both heterosexual and gay/le***an communities. Bisexual+ women, in particular, experience increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes related to prejudice than their straight or le***an counterparts. The proposed study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of family messages on bisexual+ women and how their relationships with family influence their relationships with their own identities.

We are so excited to see the amazing work Lauren does from this project. This marks the second year in a row that one of our doctoral students has been the recipient of this award. Last year, Dr. Mari Tarantino used this award to fund her amazing dissertation titled "Treading Water, Changing Tides: How Sociopolitical Uncertainty in the United States is Impacting LGBTQ+ Romantic Partnerships."

More information about the award:
https://www.ncfr.org/awards/section-awards/feminism-family-studies/jessie-bernard-outstanding-research-proposal-feminist-

Let's give a warm welcome to new PhD student, Chia-Ching (Raymond) Wang! Raymond is a first year student in the Marriage...
08/26/2026

Let's give a warm welcome to new PhD student, Chia-Ching (Raymond) Wang! Raymond is a first year student in the Marriage and Family Therapy concentration. Welcome again, Raymond!

Congratulations to Dr. Marrium Mansoor, who successfully defended her dissertation titled "Self-Reported ADHD Symptoms a...
08/25/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Marrium Mansoor, who successfully defended her dissertation titled "Self-Reported ADHD Symptoms and Intraindividual Variability in Momentary Cognition Among Young Adults" yesterday! We are so proud of you, Dr. Mansoor!

Address

295 West Campus Drive, 366 Wallace Hall
Blacksburg, VA
24061

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Virginia Tech Human Development & Family Science posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category