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Dr. Luke Russell

Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science
Family and Consumer Sciences
Office
TUR Turner Hall
  • About
  • Education
  • Awards & Honors
  • Research

Current Courses

224.001Enduring Issues For Couples And Families

400.011Independent Study

333.001Family And Consumer Public Policy

433.001Family and Consumer Public Policy

101.001Human And Family Development

299.001Independent Honor Study

499.011Independent Research For The Master's Thesis

287.011Independent Study

400.011Independent Study

497.001Introduction To Research Methodology

291.011Undergraduate Teaching Experiences In Family And Consumer Sciences

Teaching Interests & Areas

Family Relationships/Interactions, Health and Well-being, Aging, Family Policy, Research Methods

Research Interests & Areas

My research investigates how individuals living in complex family structures (single-parent, post-divorce, stepfamilies, cohabiting families) and contexts organize their relationships, engage in strategies that promote resilience, and maintain family-members’ health and well-being. I am also interested in how broader social institutions (e.g., health care systems, schools, and government agencies) can better function as supportive resources for complex and diverse families.

Google Scholar Profile:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PQAq5GUAAAAJ&hl=en

Full Curriculum Vitae (December, 2024)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ytCmNpl_A9E9LwkTGLi7Sz-LdrYCkLOn/view?usp=sharing

Learn more about Family Science:
https://family.science/

Ph D Human Development and Family Science

University of Missouri
Columbia, MO

MS Family Science

University of Missouri
Columbia, MO

BA Human Development and Family Studies & Political Science

University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT

Outstanding Paper Presentation Award

Illinois Council on Family Relations
2024

Phyllis Memken Outstanding Teacher Award

Illinois State University, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
2022

Research Initiative Award

Illinois State University
2022

CAST Outstanding Researcher Award (Pre-tenure category)

Illinois State University, College of Applied Science and Technology
2021

Departmental Research Award

Illinois State University, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
2021

Outstanding University Teaching Award (Teaching Initiative Award)

Illinois State University
2020

Book, Chapter

Sprecher, S., Russell, L., Su-Russell, C., & Schmeeckle, M. Social Networks and Extended Families. The Routledge Handbook of Family Communication. Routledge (2022): 277-293.
Russell, L. T. (2020). Cohabitation, remarriage, and step-relationships in Black families: A systems perspective. In A. James (Ed). Black Families: A systems approach. San Diego, CA: Cognella

Chapman, A., Sanner, C., Ganong, L., Coleman, M., Russell, L., Kang, Y., & Mitchell, S. (2016). Exploring the complexity of stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild relationships. In G. Gianesini, & S. L. Blair (Eds.) Divorce, Separation, and Remarriage: The Transformation of Family (Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research, Volume 10) (pp. 101-130) Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Ganong, L., Coleman, M., & Russell, L. T. (2015). Children in diverse families. In M. H. Bornstein and T. Leventhal (Eds.), Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science Volume 4: Ecological Settings and Processes in Developmental Systems. (pp. 133-174). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Coleman, M., Ganong, L., & Russell, L. T. (2013). Resilience in stepfamilies. In D. S. Becvar (Ed). The Handbook of Family Resilience. (pp. 85-103). NY: Springer Publishing.

Book, Edited

Su-Russell, C., Russell, L. T., & James Jr. A. (2023). Handbook of Asian American families. Cognella.

Encyclopedia


Kang, Y., Ganong, L., Russell, L., & Coleman, M. (2016). Stepparenting. In C. L. Shehan (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies. (pp. 1867-1870) Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

Russell, L. T., Coleman, M, & Ganong, L. (2016). Remarriage: Starting over. In C. L. Shehan (Ed.), The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Family Studies (pp. 1675-1678). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.

Russell, L. T. (2014). Preferential treatment of siblings. In M. J. Coleman, and L. H. Ganong (Eds.). The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia. (pp. 1065-1066). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.

Russell, L. T. (2014). Remarriage. In M. J. Coleman, and L. H. Ganong (Eds.), The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia. (pp. 1126-1128). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.

Russell, L. T. (2014). Stepfamilies. In M. J. Coleman, and L. H. Ganong (Eds.), The Social History of the American Family: An Encyclopedia. (pp. 1279-1282). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference.

Journal Article


Beckmeyer, J. J., & Russell, L. T. (2024). Identifying a typology of helpful post-divorce family assets: Implications for post-divorce education. Family Court Review, 62(3), 455-473. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12808

Ferraro, A. J., Fine, M. A., & Russell, L. T. (2024). A continued and expanded focus on divorce-related research: Honoring traditions and elevating discourse. Family Transitions, 65(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1080/28375300.2024.2317216

Ferraro, A. J., Wilkins-Clark, R. E., Beckmeyer, J. J., Russell, L. T., Brimhall, A. S., & Markham, M. S. (2024). Rethinking utility in divorce education: Use of multi-program evaluation data to uncover markers of post-divorce adjustment. Family Court Review, 62(3), 493-511. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12807

Fine, M. A., Ferraro, A. J., & Russell, L. T. (2024). The increasingly global nature of divorce. Family Transitions, 65(3), 169-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/28375300.2024.2364547

Lyons, K. S., Russell, L. T., Bonds Johnson, K., Brewster, G. S., Carter, J. H., & Miller, L. M. (2024). Evaluating the dyadic benefits of early-phase behavioral interventions: An exemplar using data from couples living with Parkinson’s disease. The Gerontologist, 64(7), gnad172. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad172

Magazine/Trade Publication


Beckmeyer, J. J., Ferraro, A. J., Markham, M. S., Brimhall, A. S., & Russell, L. T. (2024). Parenting education in the context of divorce, separation, and non-coresidence. NCFR Report: Parenting Education. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/winter-2023/parenting-edu-context-divorce-separation-noncoresidence

Russell, L. T., Sulak, M., Castillo, H. T., Smith, S. L., & Brower, B. R. (2024). Sibling relationships and special health care needs: Considering context, loss, and resilience. NCFR Report: Sibling Interactions and Family Dynamics. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/winter-2024/sibling-relationships-special-health-care-needs

Russell, L. T., Chapman, A. L., Kanter, J. B., Roach, A. L., & Crossman, K. A. (2019). What’s next in digital scholarship for the Journal of Family Theory & Review. NCFR Report: Family Focus on Policies with Unintended Consequences, 64, 10-11. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-report/spring-2019/whats-next-digital-scholarship-jftr
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

Written Case with Instructional Material

Ganong, L., Russell, L. T., & Stoddard, N. (2022). Conducting online research with dyads. SAGE Research Methods: Doing Research Online. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781529602128

Russell, L. T., Coleman, M., & Ganong, L. (2017). Using grounded theory to study chronic illness in post-divorce families. SAGE Research Methods Cases. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526419309

Presentations

Belonging/Inclusion in Campus Spaces: Considering Caregiving and Intersectional Identities. Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations. National Council on Family Relations. (2024)
Developing and Launching a Center for Inclusive Intergenerational Environments: Lessons Learned and Future Directions. Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference. Pennsylvania State University. (2024)
Most/Least Favorite Spaces on a University Campus: Examining Leverage Points and (Dis)similarity across Generations. Mid-Atlantic Intergenerational Conference. Pennsylvania State University. (2024)

Andrea, E. K., & Russell, L. T. (2024, Apr.) SMART recovery: An alternative pathway to recovery for Illinois families. Workshop presented at the Illinois Council On Family Relations 2024 Conference. DeKalb, IL.

Andrea, E. K., Russell, L. T., & Su-Russell, C. (2024, Apr.) State of families: A brief overview of Illinois families. Poster presented at the Illinois Council on Family Relations 2024 Conference. DeKalb, IL.

Beckmeyer, J. J., & Russell, L. T. (2024, Oct.) Post-divorce coparenting: Scholarly definitions & recent findings. Presented as part of “Reimagining parallel parenting series part 1: Insights from research: A review of academic literature and case law.” Kids First Institute. https://www.kidsfirstcenter.org/institute-webinar1

Beckmeyer, J. J., Petren, R. E., & Russell, L. T. (2024, Nov.) Post-divorce repartnering as family transitions. In J. J. Beckmeyer (Chair). Families in transition. Symposium presented at the 2024 Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Bellevue, WA.

Beckmeyer, J. J., Russell, L. T., & Kline, G. (2024, Nov.) Family structure and parents’ perceptions of the importance of youth developmental assets: Challenging the deficit orientation of structurally diverse families. Poster presented at the 2024 Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Bellevue, WA.

Brimhall, A., Ferraro, A., & Russell, L. (2024, Nov.) Adverse childhood experiences, coparenting, and post-divorce adjustment. Poster presented at the 2024 Systemic Family Therapy Conference, Lake Buena Vista, FL.

Brimhall, A.S., Beckmeyer, J. J., Ferraro, A. J., Markham, M. S., Russell, L. T., Wilkins-Clark, R. E., McCann, E., Monk, J. K., & Myers-Walls, J. (2024, Nov.). Who Participates in divorce education? Participant characteristics and reasons for attending divorce education. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, Bellevue, WA.

Grants & Contracts

Center for Inclusive Intergenerational Environment. Illinois State University. Illinois State University. (2023)
Youth and family experiences of transparent school buildings: Perceptions of connection, exposure, and safety. College of Applied Science and Technology - University Research Grant. Illinois State University. (2021)
Evaluating mechanisms associated with college student health and flourishing in structurally diverse families. College of Applied Science and Technology - University Research Grant. Illinois State University. (2019)