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Dr. Ani Yazedjian

VP and Provost
  • About
  • Education
  • Awards & Honors
  • Research

Biography

Dr. Ani Yazedjian, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. Dr. Yazedjian holds doctorate and master’s degrees in Human and Community Development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Florida. In 2013, she was awarded the designation of University Professor, the highest recognition that can be achieved by an academic administrator at Illinois State University. Her main research interests focus on college students' adjustment and achievement, young adults' sexuality and contraceptive use, adolescent identity development, adolescent parents' romantic relationships, and evidence-based practice. She has been awarded close to $7 million in funding to support her scholarship. Dr. Yazedjian currently serves as the Principal Investigator and Project Director on a 5-year, $4.96 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families to implement the Champaign Area Relationship Education for Youth (CARE4U) program. The program provides at-risk youth (ages 15-24) in Champaign and McLean Counties with relationship education, as well as job readiness and financial management skills in order to enhance their well-being and support their successful transition to adulthood. The program also includes a subsidized summer youth employment or community college tuition reimbursement component. Prior to arriving at ISU, Dr. Yazedjian was an Associate Professor of Family and Child Development in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Texas State University. While at Texas State, she served as a Co-Principal Investigator for a $1.85 million dollar grant, funded through the Administration for Children and Families, which provided adolescent parents with relationship education, as well as job readiness and financial management skills. In 2010, she was appointed as Presidential Fellow where she served on the President’s Cabinet and focused on developing and implementing internationalization efforts across campus. After completing that assignment, she served as the Special Assistant to the Provost for International Student Services where she spearheaded a number of new internationalization initiatives aimed at improving and increasing the support services provided to international students. She also served as the Director for an annual workshop entitled Preparing Students for Socially Responsible Global Citizenship for faculty interested in integrating a global perspective into their courses and as the Associate Director, Global Curriculum Initiatives for the Multicultural Curriculum Transformation and Research Institute at Texas State University. Dr. Yazedjian was re-elected to serve on the Council for Accreditation for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, serving as Secretary and member of the Standards Committee. She is Vice-President of the Council for Administrators in Family and Consumer Sciences and Past-Chair of the Ethnic Minorities Section of the National Council on Family Relations, having recently completed her term as Chair and member of the Program Committee for the annual conference. In Spring 2018, she was elected to the Elections Council for the National Council on Family Relations. Locally, she is an active member of the Board of Directors for the Multicultural Leadership Program, serving on the Development and Vision/Mission Subcommittees. She is also a volunteer for Junior Achievement at Metcalf School and a member of the External Advisory Board for the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ph D Human Development and Family Studies

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

MS Human Development and Family Studies

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois

BA Sociology

University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

University Professor

Illinois State University
2013

Leadership Initiative

Illinois State University
2013

Journal Article

Kanter J. B., Lannin, D. G., Rauer, A. J., & Yazedjian, A. (2023). Relational concerns and change in relationship satisfaction in a relationship education program. Family Process, 00, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12851
Kanter, J. B., Lannin, D. G., McCraig, J., Sprecher, S., Rauer, A., & Yazedjian, A. (in press). The impacts of specific program components on romantic relationship satisfaction. Family Relations.
Kanter, J. B., Lannin, D. G., Rauer, A. J., Sprecher, S., & Yazedjian, A. (2023). The longitudinal influence of cumulative risk: Is relationship education a resource? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 0(0). Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075231173048
Hynes, K., Lannin, D.G., Kanter, J.B., Yazedjian, A., & Nauta, M. (2022). Do materialistic adolescents ruminate more about their social media posts?. Youth & Society, 54, 766-787. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0044118X20984172
Bible, J., Lannin, D. G., Heath, P. J., & Yazedjian, A. (2021). An empirical exploration of materialism, social media, and self-stigma. Stigma and Health, 6(4), 384–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000348

Magazine/Trade Publication

Yazedjian, A., Russell, L. T., & Lannin, D. G. (2023). Behind the curtain: Developing meaningful partnerships with schools. NCFR Report: Family Focus Behind the Scenes.
Yazedjian, A., Russell, L. T., Bible, J., & Lannin, D. G. (2021). Facilitating continuous quality improvement of programs by establishing effective collaborative teams and reciprocal cycles. NCFR Report: Family Focus on Bridging Research Practice. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/winter-2021/facilitating-continuous-quality-improvement-programs-establishing-effective-cross-functional

Presentations


Bible, J., Russell, L., Lannin, D., & Yazedjian, A. (2022, Nov.). Heteronormativity, variations in sexual behavior, and experience of shame and sexual satisfaction. Paper presented at the 84th Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Minneapolis, MN.
Bible, J., Lannin, D. G., Russell, L., & Yazedjian, A. (Accepted, November, 2021). Conflict and couple satisfaction: The role of partner support and self-compassion. [Poster]. National Council on Family Relations, Baltimore, MD. [Conference online]
Bible, J., Lannin, D. G., Russell, L., & Yazedjian, A. (November, 2021). Hope, relationship education, and ending abusive relationships. [Paper Session]. National Council on Family Relations, Baltimore, MD. [Conference online]
Bible, J., Russell, L., Lannin, D. G., & Yazedjian, A. (November, 2021). Lessons learned: Best-practices for assessing curriculum fidelity, participant engagement, and direct feedback. [Paper Session]. National Council on Family Relations, Baltimore, MD. [Conference online]
Foreman, M., Michaels, C., Bible, J., Russell, L., Lannin, D.G., Yazedjian, A., Hynes, K., Horton, A. (April, 2021). Best practices for teachers of youth relationship education programs. [Poster Session]. Midwestern Psychological Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. (Conference online)
Hynes, K., Horton, A., Kanter, J., Russell, L., Lannin, D.G., Yazedjian, A. (February, 2021). Social media, family strengths, and psychological distress: A moderation model. [Conference Session]. National Association of School Psychologists. Salt Lake City, UT. (Conference online).
Hynes, K., Horton, A., Russell, L.T., Lannin, D. G, Kanter, J.B., Parris, L., & Yazedjian, A. (2021, July). Adolescents’ experiences with the Love Notes curriculum: A qualitative investigation. [Poster session]. Biennial Conference of the International Association for Relationship Research, London, UK. (Conference online)

Kanter, J. B., Lannin, D. G., Russell, L. T., Yazedjian, A., & Rauer, A. J. (2021, June.). The longitudinal effects of relationship education programming. Paper presented at the 2021 Biennial Conference of the International Association for Relationship Research. (Conference online)

Kanter, J.B., Lannin, D.G., Yazedjian, A., Rauer, A., & Sprecher, S. (November, 2021). Investigating risk and resilience associated with couples’ longitudinal experiences in relationship education programming. [Paper Session]. National Council on Family Relations, Baltimore, MD. [Conference online]
Lannin, D.G., Bible, J., Harris, P., Arellanes, J., Russell, L., & Yazedjian, A. (April, 2021). The relationship between self-affirmation and self-esteem in adolescents. [Poster Session]. Midwestern Psychological Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. (Conference online)

Grants & Contracts

Investigating the antecedents and outcomes of change and stability in low-income relationships. Illinois State University. Federal. (2020)
Revision of Assessment Plans in Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. University Assessment Services. Illinois State University. (2013)