- Applicants must hold doctoral student status and be in good standing in an academic unit on the University of South Carolina Columbia Campus (documentation required).
- The dissertation topic is strongly related to child/youth/family well-being, parenting, and/or prevention of child maltreatment.
- The dissertation proposal has been approved by the academic unit (documentation required).
- Expected completion of the project is within two years of the date of the application for the scholarship.
- The amount of the award is $5000.
- Scholarship funds will be distributed to the primary academic unit for the doctoral student.
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Funds may be used to support the following activities:
- Stipends for study participants.
- Research assistants working specifically on the dissertation project.
- Travel directly related to data collection for the dissertation project.
- Purchase of software or project equipment that is specifically related to the dissertation project, and without which, the project would not be completed.
- Open access publishing fees for manuscripts prepared from data obtained for the dissertation project
- Unspent funds remaining after two years from the date of the award will be returned to IFS.
- Attend an initial meeting with IFS leadership regarding the dissertation project and proposed use of funds.
- Meet with IFS leadership every 6 months to discuss progress.
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Submit a written report of dissertation progress and use of funds to the IFS Director on the following schedule:
- 6 months after the initial award,
- 12 months after the initial award,
- 18 months after the initial award,
- 24 months after the initial award (this will serve as the final report for this scholarship).
- Provide IFS with a photo and short bio for the IFS website.
- Participate in meetings or events sponsored by IFS as appropriate.
- Acknowledge IFS and the Dissertation Award in publications and presentations.
About Dr. Cindy Nord
(PhD, Social Policy and Research, Brandeis University; MA, Sociology, University of Michigan; MS, Social Service [MSW], Boston University)
The term Renaissance woman describes Dr. Cindy Nord perfectly. She is a philanthropist, an equestrian, a psychologist, an author and an artist whose passions include children, family, animals and art.
Cindy earned her Ph.D. in Applied Child Psychology from Union Institute and has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oberlin College.
Dr. Nord is a founding board member of the Nord Family Foundation. She’s devoted over 50 years to the foundation, serving on numerous committees including several terms as the board of trustee’s vice chair and secretary. The foundation supports underserved communities nationwide including Columbia.
As an author and artist, Dr. Nord wrote The Nickel Run in 2002, a story of her childhood growing up in a dysfunctional and sexually abusive home. The book features her artwork that explores her years of living in a world of sexual predators. Her second book, a book of poetry called Scare and Dare on My Hopscotch Square, was written in 2014.
Cindy has a passionate commitment to helping abused and neglected dogs. Over the years, hundreds of mistreated dogs have found a loving home on her South Carolina farm. To further help animals, Cindy served on the boards of the South Carolina State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and the North Carolina State College for Veterinary Medicine.
Cindy also enjoys a bond with horses and breeds Morgans. Her career as a pleasure driving competitor led to an unprecedented six Amateur Pleasure Driving National World Championships in the Morgan Grand National competition from 1986-2000.
In 1989, after moving to South Carolina from Ohio, Cindy founded The Nurturing Center, a treatment center for abused and neglected children. In 1992, Cindy gave the University of South Carolina $1.2 million dollars to establish the Institute for Families in Society. The IFS was developed to foster an exchange of ideas between mental health professionals and researchers from various departments at the university.