Congratulations to Dr. Kate Behan, Assistant Professor in Family Studies & Human Services, who was awarded the K-State Salina Enhancing Diversity award! Dr. Behan was recognized for being a change agent, advocate, and an example of emphasizing cultural diversity and compassion in the campus community, and in the broader Salina community.
Dr. Behan has developed and taught courses in family studies that bring attention to the diversity of the issues that different groups of people in our society face. For example, her FSHS 300: Families and Poverty class explores the causes and consequences of family poverty. This includes a national, global economic and socio-historical influences, migration patterns, discrimination and oppression, policies and programs that address poverty, and the developmental effects of poverty on individuals and families. Additionally, Dr. Behan developed FSHS 305: Family Violence class that focuses on the different types of violence within families. Those types include child abuse and neglect, dating violence, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse. These courses provide family studies students as well as others in the campus community a glimpse of the diverse experiences of all types of families in the US.
In addition to her academic contributions, she has been a part of numerous committees. Dr. Behan is a member of the Salina Campus Multicultural committee, she is a Safe Zone committee member as well as an ally, and she helped to organize a Civic Luncheon presentation featuring members of the LBGT community in Salina.
Regarding her service, Dr. Behan has been a part of several community organizations as well as Salina campus community organizations. She has served as the secretary and chair of the United Way committee in Salina and the Ashby House Board of Directors. Dr. Behan participated in Project Salina, which is a community board that sponsors a community-wide food drive that serves five non-profit agencies. She had given numerous presentations to churches and other community organizations to bring awareness to the family issues that exist in the Salina community. Dr. Behan is also served as an AFS liaison, an organization that serves foreign exchange students.
One of my favorite instructors! Congratulations!