Wayne State University’s director for the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, Dr. Laura McCloskey, announced today that the university is launching a new initiative to combine and strengthen the community-based mission of the Skillman Center for Children with the research and education tradition of the Merrill-Palmer Institute.

“This newly combined institute will enhance present outreach efforts by bringing in national experts to speak at the community seminar series, build a resource collection informed by the best experts in the field, and recruit nationally recognized social scientists specializing in children’s issues within urban environments,” said Dr. McCloskey. This combined institute will build partnerships within the university and the community to bring evidence-based best practices to the service of children and families. Areas of concentration will include programs to prevent child abuse and domestic violence, to develop interventions for children with special mental health needs, and early childhood education and literacy. The urban mission of Wayne State University is especially reflected in the mission of the newly combined institute.

Wayne State is investing university resources to achieve this vision, including four faculty positions and several research appointments. The university and Dr. McCloskey are committed to implementing a community-based vision that addresses children’s well-being and the risks children face, along with the strengths they and their families bring to healthy development. By engaging members of the academic and local community, the university will translate this vision for the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute into action, creating a stronger institute. This unique merger of an academic institute with an action-based center from the non-profit sector will produce and impart knowledge about ways to promote optimal child development and resilience in urban children and families.

Wayne State University is one of the nation’s pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world.