National Council on Family Relations recognizes Phillips with Outstanding Paper Award
Tommy Phillips
Tommy Phillips, associate professor in the School of Human Sciences in Mississippi State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, recently received the Outstanding Paper Award for the Religion and Family Life Section of the National Council on Family Relations, or NCFR.
Phillips will present the paper titled, “Family Home Evening: Benefits and Challenges,” at this year's NCFR conference, held virtually November 11-13, 2020. The paper focuses on the benefits and challenges associated with families attempting to schedule regular family time together.
“Despite the challenges, the study’s results suggest that families and individual family members can reap some wonderful benefits if they make the effort to have regular times set aside just for the family,” Phillips said, noting the paper’s key takeaway is that families need to be intentional and somewhat protective of scheduling time together.
Phillips, who is also a scientist in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station or MAFES, conducts research on adolescent/youth development, identity development, family routines, and religion and well-being, among other topics. He said the research was a team effort.
"My name is on the plaque, but this is the result of the efforts and contributions of 10 individuals across four different universities. On behalf of my co-presenters and co-investigators, I'm honored to receive this award," Phillips said.
MSU collaborators include Brandan Wheeler, assistant professor and MAFES scientist, and Jennifer Smith, doctoral student, both in the School of Human Sciences. Mary Allison Page, senior horticulture major in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and an undergraduate research assistant in the School of Human Sciences, also assisted in the work. Faculty from Brigham Young University, Pennsylvania State University-Shenango and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point contributed as well.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Vanessa Beeson | Agriculture and Natural Resources Marketing
