College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences Newsletter

	A Message from Dean David Magleby On President Hinckley’s 97th Birthday, June 23, 2007, the new Gordon B. Hinckley alumni and Visitors Center was dedicated. Ground was broken, also on the prophet’s birthday, in 2006. It has been remarkable to watch this 83,000 square foot building be constructed in such a relatively short time. The building stands where the alumni house previously stood. It will serve as a gateway to the campus for alumni and friends. Hinckley Building Dedication
	Pair of BYU studies shows the baby learning curve Every parent would love to get inside their baby’s mind to see what they are thinking, which is just what one Brigham Young University professor does through a series of video tests that help him plot the baby learning curve. In a new study, BYU psychology professor Ross Flom demonstrates that a 4-month-old baby can comprehend what their parent is feeling through simultaneous sights and sounds. Click here for an ABC video clip
	Barcelona Conference Three BYU FHSS professors will be presenting at the World Congress of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies in Barcelona, Spain this July 11-14, 2007. This worldwide conference will be attended by some of the brightest minds in behavioral and cognitive science across the globe. BYU professors Dr. Thomas Holman, Dr. Jeffry Larson and Dr. Dean Busby, will be presenting in two different programs during the four-day conference.
	A Summer in Washington Diane Bailey, a BYU international relations major from Alamo, California, is enjoying her summer in Washington D.C. while participating in a joint internship with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Interparliamentary Affairs Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Bailey is one of many BYU students doing internships in the Washington D.C. area through BYU’s Washington Seminar. The seminar is a semester away from Provo where students from all academic fields are welcomed and encouraged to participate.
	Geography Department Looks at the Wasted West Dr. Richard Jackson of the Geography Department is spearheading a group of Family Home and Social Science professors as they work to complete a book about urban planning and nuclear waste in the intermountain west. The book is a few years in the making and focuses on a subject that Jackson has spent his entire career studying. Jackson, along with Dr. J Matthew Shumway, Dr. Mark Jackson and Dr. Jim Davis are working to complete their first draft by the end of this summer. The tentative title of the book is, The Wasted West: Growth of NIMBY’s in Rural Western Communities.
	Truman Scholars Finalists Following a competitive internal application process the Truman Foundation selected two BYU students as finalists for the prestigious Truman Scholarship this spring. Chad Losee and Robert “Scooter” Plowman, two of the three BYU students nominated for the award, completed the rigorous process and were chosen as finalists for the scholarship. While neither ended up being selected for the scholarship, the honor of being a finalist among such a large group of talented students is amazing in and of itself.