In Memoriam: Jay A. Mancini
In Memoriam: Jay A. Mancini
Jay A. Mancini, Ph.D., died on October 10, 2024 at the age of 75. Dr. Mancini was Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Dr. Mancini was on the faculty of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) for 32 years (from 1977 to 2009) retiring as Professor Emeritus (2010). During his tenure at Virginia Tech, Dr. Mancini served as Department Head of Human Development and Family Science (formerly Department of Family and Child Development) from 1989-1996 and was Senior Research Fellow at Virginia Tech’s Institute for Society, Culture and Environment. At Virginia Tech, Dr. Mancini regarded Dr. Michael Sporakowski, a former Department Head of Human Development and Family Science department, as an invaluable source of support and good colleague and friend. Dr. Sporakowski recommended Dr. Mancini to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Marriage and Family, which Dr. Mancini served on for over 15 years. Dr. Mancini also collaborated with a number of Virginia Tech colleagues. With Dr. Rosemary Blieszner and Dr. Karen Roberto, the collaboration focused on family gerontology research. Dr. Mancini and Dr. Roberto also held an international conference in Riva San Vitale focused on human development and change that subsequently resulted in the book, Pathways of Human Development: Explorations of Change. While at Virginia Tech, Dr. Mancini conducted with Dr. Lydia Marek a multi-year research program on the sustainability of community-based programs for at-risk families. In addition, Dr. Mancini collaborated with Virginia Tech colleague, Dr. Angela Huebner, on research focused on youth and military youth. In 2005, Dr. Mancini established the Vetra R. Mancini and Jay A. Mancini Research Prize, named after his parents, for doctoral students in human development. This research prize was awarded through 2016.
Dr. Mancini obtained his master’s degree at Kansas State University and a Ph.D. at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. At the time of his death Dr. Mancini was Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) and Adjunct Professor of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia. After being on the faculty at Virginia Tech for 32 years, Dr. Mancini served as Department Head of Human Development and Family Science (2009-2014) and Haltiwanger Distinguished Professor (2009-2016) at the University of Georgia for 7 years and then continued his contributions to the department as Adjunct Professor. While Department Head, Dr. Mancini established and served as the Director of the Family and Community Resilience Laboratory (2009-2016) which conducted a number of Department of Defense funded military youth and families research projects focused on the intersections of vulnerability and resilience. Two projects, in particular, created large data sets on adolescents and parents and adolescents that have been used by graduate students and faculty at UGA and other universities and resulted in over 30 publications to date. In 2013, Dr. Mancini was the Ambiguous Loss Visiting Scholar at the University of Minnesota.
During his professional career as a family scientist, Dr. Mancini’s work focused on a number of issues that included family gerontology, family leisure time use, building community capacity, sustainability of community-based programs, resilience and vulnerabilities of families, military youth and families, military family support systems, and psychological well-being of youth and families. Dr. Mancini’s theoretical and research work is published in a wide array of periodicals that include Family Process, Family Relations, Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Family Issues, Journal of Family Theory and Review, Family Science Review, European Journal of Homelessness, Journal of Child and Family Studies, Military Medicine, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, American Journal of Community Psychology to name just a few. Dr. Mancini’s program development and evaluation research were funded by and conducted for the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U. S. Department of Defense, Office of Family Assistance under U.S. Administration for Children and Families, U. S. Department of the Army, U.S. Department of the Air Force, and National Institute on Aging (NIH), and totaled more than $22M. From 1995-2010, Dr. Mancini was significantly involved in the Army Youth Development Project under USDA CYFAR initiative and U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center. Dr. Mancini was a consultant to a number of organizations including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, America’s Promise Alliance, Caliber Associates, Department of Defense, and National Park Service in which he provided measurement and program development guidance, training, and research and program evaluation.
Dr. Mancini was a member of a number of professional organizations and most notably was a longstanding member and Fellow of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). Dr. Mancini was actively involved and prominent figure in NCFR having served as a member since 1973 and making significant contributions that included serving on the Board of Directors, Editorial boards, various task forces and committees, editor of journals and in other key roles.
Dr. Mancini received a number of awards and honors, most recently receiving in September 2024, the 2024 Dean’s Award for Excellence from the School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Mancini also received the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Service Award from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the 2002 Outstanding Alumnus Award from the School of Human Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In addition, Dr. Mancini received the 2008 Alumni Distinguished Research Award and 2021 Career Achievement Award, both from the College of Health and Human Sciences, Kansas State University. In 2014, Dr. Mancini was presented the Spirit of Military Families Coin by Defense Canada, Military Family Services/Services Aux Des Militaires. In 2018, Dr. Mancini received (with others) the Excellence in Research on Military and Veteran Families Award from the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue University.
Dr. Mancini has written chapters in books such as Handbook of Family Theories: A Content-based Approach and Handbook of Marriage and the Family. Key books include Family Stress Management: A Contextual Approach, written by Dr. Mancini with Dr. Pauline Boss and Dr. Chalandra Bryant and Pathways of Human Development: Explorations of Change, edited by Dr. Mancini with Dr. Karen Roberto. In a 2012 issue of Family Science Review, Dr. Mancini reflected on and wrote about his career as a family scientist. Dr. Mancini was proud to have had at least 42 students in faculty positions. Dr. Mancini was a mentor to former students, faculty and colleagues. In sum, in these and other ways, Dr. Mancini has left a legacy of scholarship, mentorship, and leadership in the family science field.