The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) is proud to recognize Chalandra M. Bryant, Ph.D., CFLE, and Christine M. Proulx, Ph.D., as the 2022 co-recipients of the Felix Berardo Scholarship Award, which acknowledges NCFR members for their excellence in mentoring junior colleagues or students.

Felix Berardo, the namesake of this award, was a beloved professor at the University of Florida who went beyond expectations in his mentoring of many students who became leaders in the family field.

Dr. Bryant is a full professor and director of research in family social science at the University of Minnesota. She earned her doctorate in child development and family relationships at The University of Texas at Austin. Thereafter, she completed a two-year fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Throughout her professorship, Dr. Bryant has garnered international recognition for her research on the development and duration of close relationships and intimate ties, as well as the way social phenomena are linked to marital outcomes. She has authored books, published numerous articles and chapters, and is a co-author of the book, Family Stress Management: A Contextual Approach, which has been cited almost 2,000 times. Dr. Bryant is an established leader, named the 2019-2020 Ambiguous Loss Scholar by the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota and is the inaugural Pauline Boss Faculty Fellow in Ambiguous Loss.

At NCFR, Dr. Bryant is recognized for her leadership and is a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE). She has supported NCFR in many capacities including secretary-treasurer of the Ethnic Minority Section and as a member of the Inclusion and Diversity Committee. Having served on the editorial boards for the Journal of Family Theory and Review and Journal of Marriage and Family, Dr. Bryant has received a number of awards and recognition from NCFR for her papers and publications, including the Reuben Hill Award.

Dr. Bryant has a deep commitment to developing the next generation of family scholars. Graduate students and junior faculty recognize Dr. Bryant as a caring, dedicated mentor. She has participated in grant initiatives alongside other researchers and scholars. Some projects were directed towards increasing the number of minority students receiving doctoral degrees to fostering relationship between minority-serving institutions, historically Black colleges/universities, and research-intensive institutions.

Dr. Proulx is an associate professor in human development and Family Science at the University of Vermont and a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). She received her doctorate in human development and Family Studies from The University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Immediately thereafter, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship and then assumed careers in the academe, both administrative and faculty. Her roles, both in and outside of the classroom, have landed her recognition and merit. In 2018, her work and dedication were acknowledged, by the GSA, as it pertains to gerontological education and research as she was bestowed fellow status, their most prestigious standing. In her research, Dr. Proulx examines changes that close relationships and social roles undergo over time, and how such changes are associated with an improvement in and deterioration of mental, physical, and cognitive health. Dr. Proulx is a co-editor of the forthcoming Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methodologies, a seminal volume published approximately every 15 years in the field.

Dr. Proulx has served as the chair of NCFR's Research and Theory Section and has been an editorial board member of Journal of Marriage and Family and Journal of Family Theory & Review. Additionally, Dr. Proulx has presented her research, through scholarly papers and posters, at NCFR annual meetings.

Dr. Proulx’s publications have been widely cited. Her most-highly cited empirical work, “Marital quality and personal well-being: A meta-analysis”, has been cited 1,314 times. As an advisor and mentor to students and junior colleagues, she has published many scholarly articles with her former and current graduate students.

Dr. Proulx is known for her mentorship, at both a department and university level. Students have recognized and nominated Dr. Proulx for the indelible support she has offered them. She has received accolades from both graduate student organizations and graduate student council for her leadership and commitment as well as her contributions towards the academic growth and professional development of graduate students.

Dr. Bryant and Dr. Proulx were recognized for their achievements at the 2022 NCFR Annual Conference.

The National Council on Family Relations is the premier professional association for the multidisciplinary understanding of families. NCFR has a membership of nearly 3,000 family researchers, practitioners and educators. For more information on the National Council on Family Relations or its scholarly publications, visit the NCFR website at ncfr.org