The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) has conferred its prestigious Fellow status on Norma J. Bond Burgess. Dr. Burgess is the current and founding Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Dr. Burgess completed a Ph.D. in sociology in 1986 with the express goal of becoming a university professor. Dr. Burgess was also the founding Dean for the College for Graduate Studies and Professor of Sociology at Chatham University in 2007. Prior to this, she was a Professor at Syracuse University where she also served as Department Chair in the Child and Family Studies department. She is a recognized expert in the fields of ethnic minority families, leadership, women, work and family.

Dr. Burgess is a former NCFR Board member, and an editorial reviewer in the journals Gender and Society, Journal of Family Issues, Family Relations and Sociological Inquiry. She has been the recipient of numerous institutional and national awards including NCFR’s Marie Peters Award in recognition of excellence in the field of ethnic minority families. Her scholarship has been widely published in many journals, including Journal of Family History, Journal of Black Studies, Family Science Review, andJournal of Family Issues.

Dr. Burgess has a high level of commitment to student and faculty success. Her leadership activities have focused on excellence in the classroom, scholarship, globalization and professional development. She is widely traveled, and developed and led study abroad programs. She is known for her ability to work with others and her enthusiasm for life, family and work.

The National Council on Family Relations is the nation’s premier professional association for the multidisciplinary understanding of families. NCFR has a membership of more than 3600 family researchers, practitioners and educators.  For more information on the National Council on Family Relations or its scholarly publications, contact NCFR at 1-888-781-9331 or visit its website at www.ncfr.org.