Francisco A. Villarruel (Ph.D., 1990, University of Wisconsin, Madison) is an Associate Professor of Family & Child Ecology at Michigan State University and a Research Associate with the Institute for Children, Youth, and Families, a university-wide research and outreach unit promoting positive development of children, youth, and families in communities through the application of the scholarly resources of Michigan State. He is affiliated with the Julian Samora Research Institute, which generates applies knowledge to serve the needs of Latino communities in the Midwest. Since joining Michigan