Cornell Professor Urie Bronfenbrenner is the first recipient of the American Psychological Association's (APA) new award named in his honor, the Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society.

He received the honor at the APA's annual meeting in Toronto on Aug. 11. Bronfenbrenner, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Family Studies and of Psychology, is a founder of the national Head Start program.

He also is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking theoretical "bioecological model" that has led to new directions in basic research and to applications in the design of programs and policies affecting the well-being of children and families both in the United States and abroad. Bronfenbrenner also is well-known for his cross-cultural studies on families and their support systems, human development and the status of children; he is the author, co-author or editor of more than 300 articles and 14 books.

On the occasion of receiving the award, Bronfenbrenner gave an invited address called "The State of Americans: This Generation and the Next," which is the title of a new book authored by Bronfenbrenner and four Cornell colleagues.

In the address, Bronfenbrenner discussed the processes through which profound changes have been taking place in the lives of families, in child-care settings, schools and neighborhoods, and how these changes endanger the competence and character of "this generation and the next." He also talked about how these same processes might be redirected to reduce or even reverse prevailing trends.