Cultural and Economic Diversity Award Recipient - William Lofton Turner

Joan Laird

Several years ago, AFTA instituted an annual award for "Work on Cultural and Economic Diversity." The purpose of the award is to facilitate and foster the development of culturally sensitive, community-based family therapy services that help empower diverse populations in their communities. The award is made to people who are directing, developing, or are otherwise deeply involved in clinical services, training programs, or research projects that advance the availability and quality of services to people of diverse cultural and economic backgrounds.

In this millenium year of 2000, the recipient of the Cultural and Economic Diversity Award is William Lofton Turner. Dr. Turner is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Since 1993, he has also served as Research Professor at the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research in the university's College of Medicine. Dr. Turner has several careers. He is a teacher, clinician, researcher, grant developer and director, and writer whose educational, practice, and scholarly pursuits span a wide range.

Dr. Turner's recent research has focused on the resiliency and strengths of African American families, on substance abuse prevention, and on the psychosocial dimensions of health, illness and disability. He currently conducts three research projects:

The African American Family Strengths Project. This project, funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, is devoted to exploring the role of protective factors in the prevention of substance abuse among African American adolescents. Findings to date indicate that the most significant preventive factors are: closely-knit family structure, high degree of parental control, strong anti-drug messages, moderate to high degree of family openness, high degree of parental educational encouragement, strong family values, good relationships with siblings, strong bonds with extended family, a sense of responsibility fostered by required chores in the homes, and clear ethnic identity.

Etiology of Drug Abuse. This is an evaluation project, examining the effectiveness of a school;-based summer program designed to reduce the influence of risk factors and strengthen protective factors related to substance abuse in young people.

Rural Educational Achievement Project. Three levels of substance abuse prevention in youth are being evaluated: a) a character education and problem behavior prevention program; b) a preventive, school-based program in addition to (a); and c) a family program in addition to (a) and (b).

Dr. Turner has a strong background in family therapy as well. After completing a B.A. in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he went on the be awarded an MMFT degree in family therapy at Abilene Christian University, and in 1990 received his Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Family and Child Development, with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy. From 1985 to 1987, he served as Assistant Institute Director for the Marriage and Family Institute at Abilene Christian University. From 1987 to 1989, he was the Assistant Clinical Director of the Center for Family Services at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and from 1989 to 1990 worked as a family therapist at the Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program for HCAS Lewis-Gale Hospital in Salem Virginia.

His potential was recognized early by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, who in 1986 gave him their Marriage and Family Therapy Minority Fellowship Award. Since that time he has received several additional awards, most recently the Citation for Distinguished and Meritorious Service from the National Institute on Drug Abuse/National Institutes on Health.

Dr. Turner's list of research grants awarded, publications, papers at international, state, and regional conferences, provide testimonial to his remarkable contribution to the advancement of knowledge in many areas. Primary among them is his work in the area of prevention of drug abuse in African American families and adolescents, and in fostering strength and resilience in Black families. In addition to his prolific publication, Dr. Turner finds the time to serve on many advisory panels, review committees, editorial boards, and is an active member of several national organizations.

I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting Dr. Turner in person, to become acquainted with this man for all seasons. It is a privilege for AFTA to be able to honor his remarkable achievements. In addition to his presence at the awards banquet, Dr. turner will be speaking at the Social Policy Forum. I hope that each of us has an opportunity at the annual meeting in San Diego to welcome and congratulate him, to initiate conversation, and to begin to develop an ongoing dialogue with him.