About | Hallie E. Ford Center

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Hallie E. Ford In 2008, just before her passing at age 102, noted Oregon philanthropist Hallie E. Ford gave a gift of $8 million to continue her legacy of love, care, and support for children and families. Her gift was prompted by decades of successful research, teaching and outreach in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University. Researchers in the Center take a holistic approach to studying preventive health for children and families including physical intellectual, emotional, and social development across the lifespan.See Simple Life, Solid Values...Lasting Legacy (pdf)

MISSION

The Hallie Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families promotes the development and wellbeing of children, youth, and families by generating, translating, and sharing research-based knowledge. The Center advocates a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to research and outreach that has far-reaching consequences for Oregon and beyond.

The Center embraces these foundational beliefs:

  • The early years are of fundamental importance for optimizing health and human development, and for ensuring a successful launch into adult life
  • Families, broadly defined, provide the central foundation for healthy children and youth
  • The culture and context of each family is integral to their wellbeing
  • Children and families form the basis for vibrant communities and economies  

The Center promotes healthy children, youth, and families by:

  • Conducting innovative and interdisciplinary human research, both basic and applied
  • Translating and disseminating research findings for use by practitioners, policymakers, educators, and the public
  • Building the capacity for research across the College and the University
  • Enhancing the strengths of families, organizations, and communities

The Center is committed to:

  • Creating and evaluating programs and generating research that can inform policy
  • Developing advanced and novel research method
  • Training and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty
  • Facilitating collaboration among members of multiple academic units at OSU and between OSU and other institutions
  • Fostering collaborative relationships among stakeholders that serve children, youth, and families