Kansas State University

Knudson-Martin to present Jurich Lecture on Social Justice Sept. 15

Submitted by College of Human Ecology

The couple and family therapy program in the College of Human Ecology's School of Family Studies and Human Services, will welcome Carmen Knudson-Martin to campus on Friday, Sept. 15, for the annual Jurich Lecture Series. Knudson-Martin will present "Power in Relationships: Why it Matters-Bridging Social Context, Emotion and Couple Interaction" at 2:30 p.m. in the Wildcat Chamber in the K-State Student Union.

Knudson-Martin is professor and director of the marital, couple and family therapy program at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. A licensed marriage and family therapist, she has published more than 80 articles and book chapters on the influence of the larger sociocultural context in couple and family relationships and the political and ethical implications of therapist actions on marital equality, relational development and couple therapy. Her multicultural research examines the microprocesses by which societal gender, culture and power play out in couple relationships and couple therapy. She is co-editor of "Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy: Bridging Emotion, Societal Context, and Couple Interaction" and "Couple, Gender, and Power: Creating Change in Intimate Relationships" and co-author of soon-to-be-released "Socioculturally Attuned Family Therapy: Guidelines for Equitable Theory and Practice." She is the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Theory and Practice Award from the American Academy of Family Therapy.

Knudson-Martin received her bachelor's degree from North Dakota State University, master's degree from Utah State University and doctorate from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. 

The Tony Jurich Lecture Series on Social Justice honors Tony Jurich, a professor in the College of Human Ecology at Kansas State University. He began his career at K-State in 1972 and led by example in the marriage and family therapy, now the couple and family therapy program, where he taught for more than 39 years before his death in 2010.

Jurich's life and work embodied the core principles of social justice and he challenged his students and colleagues to do the same. Jurich's core leadership tenets — strive for resonance; assume value and be respectful; be compassionate; do what is right; seek out, affirm and utilize diversity and lead by example — provide a road map for sustainable community change.

This event is free and open to the public.