The Institute for Families in Society was created in the early 1990s through the efforts of an interdisciplinary task force commissioned by the president of the University of South Carolina. 

The Institute was conceived as a partnership between the University and the broader community as a means to promote the well-being of families at all stages across the life span. It was planned in collaboration with representatives from public and private agencies, community organizations, and business.

Its development was guided by Dr. Urie Bronfenbrenner, Family Psychologist and Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, whose research on the ecology of family and community was an inspiration for the creation of such an organization, and who suggested its name. Dr. Arlene Bowers Andrews of the University’s College of Social Work and Dr. Abraham Wandersman of the Department of Psychology co-directed the effort. By 1992, the Institute for Families in Society was securely grounded by a donation from Cindy and Evan Nord that was the largest single contribution to the University made to that time.

In 1994, Dr. Gary Melton, an internationally-recognized authority on child abuse and neglect, was appointed the first full-time director, and the Institute’s vision was expanded into national and international arenas. Within a short time, the Institute’s work and unique culture attracted outstanding scholars and practitioners from fields related to families and communities. Among them was Dr. Andrew Billingsley, former president of Morgan State University, who joined as senior scholar-in-residence, bringing his vast expertise in the sociology of families, particularly the African American family. Other notables were Dr. Barbara Morrison-Rodriguez, the University’s I. DeQuincey Newman Professor of Social Work, and Dr. Malfrid Flekkoy, a former Norwegian Commissioner for Children and senior fellow with UNICEF.

In 1999, Dr. Andrews, one of the founders of the Institute, was appointed director. An expert in public-private sector collaboration and family policy, she further strengthened the Institute’s financial base and relationships with partners, reinforced the Institute’s commitment to participative community processes, bolstered its expertise in cultural competence, and honed its research focus. Other accomplished researchers and practitioners were attracted to the Institute, and exceptional graduate students from around the world, some fresh from baccalaureate programs and others in mid-career, came to learn and offer their valuable assistance to the Institute’s work.

In less than a decade, the Institute for Families in Society has developed an impressive array of research partnerships and projects to expand the base of knowledge about families and society and to strengthen families and the communities of which they are a part. By 1996, it was honored with the Award for Leadership as the University’s top research unit. Institute projects have ranged from international collaborations to establish universal measurements of human well-being to intimate work with community organizations to strengthen their capacity to support families. Its partners have included academic consortia and Carolina grassroots community groups, state governments and nonprofit organizations, federal agencies and townships in South Africa. Funders have been major organizations such as The Kellogg Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, The Ford Foundation, The Sisters of Charity Foundation, The Duke Endowment, the US Department of Justice, and The Centers for Disease Control, and local groups such as The Pee Dee Healthy Start Coalition and Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

The Institute has established itself as a source of counsel and technical assistance to a wide spectrum of entities concerned with the well-being of families. In its research collaborations it is seeking to apply science to universal and specific needs of families and the communities in which they live. With its partners it is breaking new ground in the area of academy/community relationships. In all of its efforts, it is striving to understand, disseminate and put into practice principles shown to help strengthen families, their communities and the organizations which serve them.