Michael A. O'Donnell (author)
Encyclopedia
Michael A. O'Donnell is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
) is an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
, and international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
lecturer with a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
and is best known for his Adolescent Wellness Research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
Project, co-conducted with family strengths scholar Nick Stinnett, Ph.D., a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
with the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
. Their research on Adolescent Wellness was published in the book Good Kids (Doubleday 1995) and was presented before the United Nations
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
in Vienna, Austria, in 1995. The United Nations also published their research in the UN Directory of International Year of the Family
International Year of the Family
The year 1994 was proclaimed the International Year of the Family by the United Nations General Assembly. Its objectives are promoted by the United Nations Programme on the Family....
Research Projects in the summer of 1995.
The International Family Life Institute
In the late 1980s, O'Donnell—an Assistant ProfessorProfessor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Family Studies, Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Professional Studies with Faulkner University
Faulkner University
Faulkner University is a private Christian university, located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, and affiliated with the Church of Christ. The University was founded in 1942 as Montgomery Bible School. In 1953 the school's name was changed to Alabama Christian College . In 1965, the college was moved to...
, and Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE)
Family life education
Family Life Education is the effort made by American professional organizations, universities, and individuals to strengthen families through social science education.- Definition :The premier professional organization in the U.S...
—and Stinnett co-founded The International Family Life Institute, Inc., Montgomery
Montgomery
-In France:* Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery, a commune in département Calvados, Normandy* Saint-Germain-de-Montgommery, idem* Colleville-Montgomery, idem-In Pakistan:...
, AL, which helped pioneer the first B.S. degree completion program
Degree completion program
A degree completion program is an educational program providing a way for learners to get college credit for learning that they acquired through life and work experience. Degree completion programs, unlike diploma mills, work within the established university community to provide accredited degrees...
in Family Life Education
Family life education
Family Life Education is the effort made by American professional organizations, universities, and individuals to strengthen families through social science education.- Definition :The premier professional organization in the U.S...
on the campus of Spring Arbor University
Spring Arbor University
Spring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Mich., leading to certification for professionals as Certified Family Life Educators (CFLE)
Family life education
Family Life Education is the effort made by American professional organizations, universities, and individuals to strengthen families through social science education.- Definition :The premier professional organization in the U.S...
through the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR). The Institute
Institute
An institute is a permanent organizational body created for a certain purpose. Often it is a research organization created to do research on specific topics...
was a for-profit enterprise offering assistance in curriculum development, prevention-through-education seminars, and research and writing projects in the area of family and consumer science
Family and consumer science
Family and consumer sciences is an academic discipline that combines aspects of social and natural science. Family and consumer sciences deals with the relationship between individuals, families, and communities, and the environment in which they live...
and practice.
Southwest Center for Fathering
In the early 1990s, O'Donnell was also an Associate (undergraduate & graduateGraduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
) Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Family Studies and the Founding Executive Director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the Southwest Center for Fathering
Fathering
Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, is a peer-reviewed academic journal established in 2003 as the third of four published by Men's Studies Press and the first worldwide to focus specifically on fatherhood. Editor-in-Chief is Andrea Doucet....
on the campus of Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute...
—the first university-based center for fathering in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
—and has been featured for his work in the area of fathering in The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
. O'Donnell was personally responsible for training over 400 certified fathering small group leaders in the U.S. and oversees. He is also "the inspiration" for the development of the Centre for Fathering in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, which was the first recipient of the Volunteer Development Grant, initiated by the Prime Minister of Singapore
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
in 2000. Also, the Center for Fathers and Families in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, Calif., was formed after attendees returned from a seminar held by O'Donnell at Abilene Christian University. O'Donnell was also invited to be an original signer of A Call to Fatherhood published in 1997 by the Center of the American Experiment
Center of the American Experiment
The Center of the American Experiment is a conservative free market think tank in Minnesota, USA.-Overview:The Center of the American Experiment was founded in 1990. Its founder and President is Michael Pearlstein, a former Reagan appointee. Annette Meeks used to serve as its CEO. It has received...
, The National Fatherhood Initiative
National Fatherhood Initiative
The National Fatherhood Initiative is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization that aims to improve the well-being of children through the promotion of responsible fatherhood...
, and the Institute for American Values; which was presented at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. In 1992 O'Donnell was invited to conduct a Fathering Certification
Certification
Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit...
Seminar at the U. S. Naval Base, Naples, Italy. And, in 1991 the Southwest Center for Fathering was awarded a $17,000 training grant from the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Department of Human Services to educate and train their employees in leading fathering support groups for their Foster Care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
programs.
Author
In the mid to late 1990s, O'Donnell—then a (full) Professor of Family Studies and Department Chair of PsychologyPsychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
& Behavioral Sciences with Rochester College
Rochester College
Rochester College is a four-year, liberal arts college located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The college was founded by members of Churches of Christ in 1959. Total enrollment for the fall 2011 semester is 1,084 students....
in Mich.—had authored or co-authored eight books, including: Home from Oz (Thomas Nelson
Thomas Nelson (publisher)
Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...
& Word 1994), A Question of Honor (Harper Collins & Zondervan
Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .- History :...
1995), and How A Man Prepares His Sons for Life (Baker Publishing Group & Bethany House
Bethany House
Bethany House Publishers is an evangelical publisher that publishes mostly Christian fiction and Non-Fiction. Bethany House Publishers was bought out in 2003 by Baker Publishing Group. In 2010, Bethany House has been open of fifty-two years....
1995)—which was nominated for both the Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
and Gold Medallion
Gold Medallion Book Award
The Christian Book Award is an annual award given by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association to honor Christian content in several categories, including Bibles, Fiction, Children, Inspiration, Bible Reference, and Non-Fiction. Winners are announced each year at the industry's Executive...
book awards. These books have been the focus of numerous radio, TV and print features such as in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Better Homes and Gardens
Better Homes and Gardens (magazine)
Better Homes and Gardens is the fourth best selling magazine in the United States. The editor in Chief is Gayle Butler. Better Homes and Gardens focuses on interests regarding homes, cooking, gardening, crafts, healthy living, decorating, and entertaining. The magazine is published 12 times per...
and Jet
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
magazines; 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Interactive Business Network, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
nationally-syndicated radio program The Best of Our Knowledge. He was also invited to be a contributing scholar to the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Social Issues published by Cavendish Corporation
Marshall Cavendish
Marshall Cavendish is a subsidiary company of Times Publishing Group, the printing and publishing subsidiary of Singapore-based conglomerate Fraser and Neave and at present is a publisher of books, directories and magazines. Marshall Cavendish was established in the United Kingdom in 1968 by Norman...
in association with Salem Press
Salem Press
Salem Press is a publisher of reference works on literature, history and biography, the social sciences, and science. Salem Press publishes comprehensive, multivolume sets under its Salem Press imprint, and smaller, condensed titles under its Magill’s Choice imprint.Products include traditional...
and Initiatives for Families for the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) press.
Personal life
He is the identical twin brother of award-winning playwrightPlaywright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Richard O'Donnell
Richard O'Donnell (playwright)
Richard O'Donnell is a playwright, poet, journalist, producer, actor, and stand-up comic living in Chicago. He has worked and lived in New York City and Chicago where he has written and performed for the stage and television...
.
Academic and Popular Books
- What A Son Needs from His Dad, Baker Publishing Group, Minneapolis, Minn., 2011.
- 你和你的孩子们可以成功驾驭十几岁的年龄 (w/ N. Stinnett), Centre for Fathering, Ltd, Singapore, 2001.
- The OzLand of OzOz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
SyndromeSyndromeIn medicine and psychology, a syndrome is the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs , symptoms , phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one or more features alerts the physician to the possible presence of the others...
, Hillcrest Publishers, Abilene, Texas, 2001. (See Adaptations of The Wizard of Oz, under Books.) - 어떻게 사람이 인생에 대한 그의 아들을 준비, Compass House Publishers, Seoul, Korea, 1997.
- A Question of Honor (w/ J. Gantar and T. Patten), HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
/ZondervanZondervanZondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .- History :...
, New York, NY, 1996. - Good Kids: How You and Your Kids Can Successfully Navigate the Teen Years (w/ N. Stinnett), Doubleday, New York, NY, 1996.
- How A Man Prepares His Sons for Life, Bethany HouseBethany HouseBethany House Publishers is an evangelical publisher that publishes mostly Christian fiction and Non-Fiction. Bethany House Publishers was bought out in 2003 by Baker Publishing Group. In 2010, Bethany House has been open of fifty-two years....
, Minneapolis, MN, 1996. - Heart of the Warrior: A Battle Plan for Christian Men, College Press Publishers, Joplin, Mo., 1996.
- O’Donnell M.A., et al. Initiatives for Families: Research, Policy, Practice, and Education. Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations, 1995.
- Home From OzLand of OzOz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
: Finding Contentment In Your Family, Thomas NelsonThomas Nelson (publisher)Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...
/Word, Dallas, Texas, 1994. (See Adaptations of The Wizard of Oz, under Books.) - Heart of the Warrior: A Battle Plan for Fathers to Reclaim Their Families (with Michelle Morris), Abilene Christian UniversityAbilene Christian UniversityAbilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute...
Press, Abilene, Texas, 1993. - Human Life Cycle I: Instructor’s Manual, Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Spring Arbor, MI, 1991. - Human Life Cycle II: Instructor’s Manual, Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Spring Arbor, MI, 1991. - The Professional Family Life Educator: Instructor’s Manual, Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Spring Arbor, MI, 1991. - Grief Management I: Instructor’s Manual, Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Spring Arbor, MI, 1990. - Grief Management II: Instructor’s Manual, Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Spring Arbor, MI, 1990. - Parenting and Family Skills: Instructor’s Manual, Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Spring Arbor, MI, 1989. - Family Theory: Instructor’s Manual, Editor, Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor University is a Christian institution of higher education located in Spring Arbor, Michigan, in the United States. SAU is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church...
, Spring Arbor, MI, 1989.