Dr. Ani Yazedjian

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.