Media Alert

February 1, 2007

Ronald Mincy to Participate in "Fatherhood Challenge" Symposium and Community Event at the Apollo Theater

New York, NY – Dr. Ronald Mincy, the Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice at the Columbia University School of Social Work, will be a featured panelist at an all-day symposium entitled “Meeting the Fatherhood Challenge:  The Importance to Families, Kids, and Communities.”  The event will take place from 10:00AM-6:00PM this Saturday, February 3rd, at the Apollo Theater in New York.  Admission is free and open to the public.

The symposium is organized by Joseph Media and hosted by its founder Bill Stephney, former president of Def Jam Records.  Scheduled to coincide with Black History Month, the event seeks to bring public awareness to the challenges many young fathers face and to assist in building healthy environments for families in New York and across the nation.

Dr. Mincy, author of Black Males Left Behind, will join other presenters and panelists to discuss issues on urban fatherhood, including basketball star Allan Houston; filmmaker Tyler Perry; Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services Dr. Wade F. Horn; and Alicia Crowe, author of "Real Dads Stand Up."  The symposium will also feature a screening of two films, the Oscar-nominated Will Smith/Sony Pictures film, "The Pursuit of Happyness" and a special preview of the upcoming Tyler Perry/Lion’s Gate film "Daddy's Little Girl," starring Idris Elba and Gabrielle Union.

For more information, please contact Jeannie Yip at 212-851-2327 or [email protected].

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About CUSSW (www.socialwork.columbia.edu)
For more than 100 years, the Columbia University School of Social Work has been the leader in practice and policy. Located in New York City, the School offers Master’s and Doctoral programs which are nationally and internationally recognized for their excellence. With its signature curriculum that encompasses multidimensional academic coursework and a far-reaching field education experience, CUSSW continues to be at the forefront of clinical practice, social policy, and social enterprise administration education, teaching, research and social work innovation in the 21st Century.

About Ronald B. Mincy
Dr. Mincy formerly served at the Ford Foundation in several programmatic positions related to the treatment of low-income fathers by U.S. welfare, child support, and family support systems. He previously taught in the economics departments at Purdue University, Bentley College, the University of Delaware, and Swarthmore College, and also worked at the U.S. Department of Labor and the Urban Institute. He is a former co-chair of the Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce and is a Board Member of the Grantmakers for Children, Youth, and Families.  He recently published Black Males Left Behind. (Urban Institute Press)