Anthony Burrow, associate professor of human development and associate dean for extension and outreach in the College of Human Ecology, has been named director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research.

Burrow, who will begin his new role at BCTR on July 1, succeeds Christopher Wildeman, professor in the Department of Policy Analysis and Management, who is leaving Cornell.

Established in 2011, the Bronfenbrenner Center brings together researchers with health and human service organizations to expand and strengthen the connections between research, policy and practice.

“For the duration of my time at Cornell, the BCTR has served as a beacon for aligning my research with the College of Human Ecology’s mission to improve lives by exploring and shaping human connections,” said Burrow, who joined the Cornell faculty in 2011.

“The chance to serve as director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research is a genuine honor,” he said. “In this role, I see a tremendous opportunity – and perhaps one made more urgent by the particular moment our world is experiencing – to discover and share actionable insights with the communities we serve.”

Burrow directs the Program for Research on Youth Development and Engagement (PRYDE), which links science and service by involving 4-H communities in research projects to promote positive youth development. His research focuses on two main areas: how notions of race are incorporated into self-identity and perceptions of everyday encounters; and the benefits of having a sense purpose in life as a psychological resource.

Burrow has earned Cornell’s Engaged Scholar Prize, serves as a provost’s fellow for public engagement, and in January was one of two recipients of Cornell’s inaugural Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service Through Diversity.

“Anthony exemplifies the type of publicly engaged research and teaching that we value in the College of Human Ecology,” said Rachel Dunifon, who has been named the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean of the College of Human Ecology as of July 1. “As director of PRYDE, he draws upon his expertise in positive youth development to partner with 4-H and other organizations to develop programs designed to enhance youth well-being. I am excited to partner with Anthony as we further increase the impact of our extension and outreach mission.”

Burrow said he looks forward to building on the BCTR’s strengths and creating new research partnerships with faculty, students and community stakeholders.

“I aim to generate a broader platform for studying positive youth development,” he said. “Through such an initiative, I believe we can capitalize on so many wonderful projects and programs already housed within the center, while also formalizing a more far-reaching agenda for translating what is known about what helps young people thrive and enables them to contribute to the world around them.”

The center was named for the late Urie Bronfenbrenner ’38, who taught at Cornell for more than 50 years and whose research helped to inspire the federal Head Start program.

Today, more than 40 Cornell faculty affiliates of the BCTR work with practitioners to design, implement and evaluate projects and programs focused on nutrition, youth development, parenting, health care, aging and related issues.

Sheri Hall is a freelance writer.