TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Stephen Bavolek, noted investigator of abusive and neglectful parenting and principal author of the Nurturing Parenting Program, will present "The Proven Power of Nurturing in Changing Family Dysfunction" for the 2005 Orman-Harris Lecture, Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. in the lecture hall of the Child Development Research Center on The University of Alabama campus.

Bavolek is nationally known for his research and effective intervention with parents at risk for abusive and neglectful parenting. During the last 27 years he has authored and validated family-based parenting programs, assessment inventories, school curricula, games, videos, instructional aides and training materials all designed to enhance the lives of individuals and families through nurturing.

The lecture, sponsored by the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences, is free and open to the general public.

The Orman-Harris Lecture was established by the late Mildred Brown Davis to promote the professional development of The College of Human Environmental Sciences faculty and to enrich the quality of its academic programs. In the late 1940s, Davis received her graduate degree from the College and in 1981 was recognized as one of its outstanding graduates. Davis asked that the lectureship honor the memory of two distinguished educators and professionals, Elizabeth Carmichael Orman and Agnes Ellen Harris.

For more information, contact Dr. Mary Liz Curtner-Smith, UA associate professor of human development and family studies, at 205/348-8151 or mcurtner@ches.ua.edu.