College of Education Creates Youth Advocacy Center

Georgia Southern University is now home to a research center dedicated to defending the rights of young people. The new center is an outgrowth of the National Youth Advocacy and Resilience (NYAR) Conference, which was established more than 30 years ago. The conference served as an epicenter of information sharing and progress for supporting young people facing challenges across the country. The conference recently led to the creation of the NYAR Research Center. The interdisciplinary facility, housed in the College of Education (COE), will enhance the conference’s efforts in supporting young people.

The NYAR Research Center will conduct research and develop evidence-based practices to support professors, educators, community partners and other adults impacting youth. NYAR conference co-chairs Alisa Leckie, Ph.D., and Taylor Norman, Ph.D., initiated the proposal for the center and assembled a group of Georgia Southern faculty and administrators to support cutting-edge and interdisciplinary projects that will have the greatest impact on youth advocacy and resilience.

The research and work of the NYAR Research Center is based on five interacting areas developed by a team including COE’s Cordelia Zinskie, Ed.D., that impacts the academic, social and emotional well-being of youth. Referred to as the five H’s, the interacting areas include: head for intellectual achievements and school leadership; heart for social and emotional skills; hands for safety and protection; health for physical and mental health; and home for family and community support.