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FSoS to welcome pioneering marriage and family therapist and scholar David Olson for December Research Colloquium
The Department of Family Social Science will welcome back David Olson, professor emeritus, to the FSoS Research Colloquium Wednesday, December 3. Olson will discuss his research journey over his distinguished career – where it began and how it has shifted and evolved. He will also illuminate how his research informed other professional activities. He is known for his many contributions to the family field as a scholar, teacher, therapist, and professional.
The Colloquium will be held 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. in 274 McNeal Hall on the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus, 1985 Buford Ave., St. Paul, Minn., 55108. Refreshments will be served, please RSVP with this Google form.
Olson joined the FSoS faculty in 1973 and served as Director of Graduate Programs from 1973-1987. One of the pioneers in couple and marriage therapy, Olson bridged research, theory, and practice to create the pioneering Circumplex Model, a systemic model used in a variety of settings with couples and families. The assessment provides diagnostic information that is useful for treatment planning, clinical intervention, and assessing the clinical outcome. The model has been used as the foundation for more than 1,000 research studies worldwide. He has written or edited over 20 books and published more than 100 articles as well as served on the editorial boards of six family journals. He is also founder and former CEO of Prepare/Enrich (Life Innovations), a simplified version of his assessment that has been used with over 4 million premarital and married couples around the globe to improve the health and resilience of their relationships.
He served as Interim Head of the Department of Family Social Science 1989-1990.
He is a fellow of the American Association for Marital and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and the American Psychological Association. He has served as president of the National Council on Family Relations and the Upper Midwest Association for Marriage and Family Therapists. He was honored by both AAMFT and the American Family Therapy Academy with Distinguished Contributions to Family Therapy Research Awards, as well as the University of Minnesota’s Legacy and Research Excellence Awards.
Olson was honored with Professor Emeritus status in 2001. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from St. Olaf College, a master’s in psychology from Wichita State University, and his doctoral degree from Penn State.