2021 Suzanne and Harry Statland Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship

This year’s recipient of the Statland Award has extraordinary scholarly contributions and leadership on a series of large-scale collaborative projects focused on improving social services for children and families experiencing maltreatment and substance use making her an outstanding recipient of this year’s award. We are proud to announce that this year’s Statland Award recipient is Associate Professor Dr.Jody Brook.

Dr. Jody Brook has epitomized the spirit of the Statland Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship during her career. Since 2018, she has had 12 peer-reviewed publications, over 23 national and international presentations, and over $14 million received in external funding as either PI or Co-PI. Dr. Brook’s scholarship focuses on a significant social and community need—the ways in which communities and systems designed to serve them can most effectively address parental substance abuse and child maltreatment. Over her total career, she has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal investigator on 16 externally funded projects, nine of which were competitive federal awards from the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Children’s Bureau’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). Most notable about Dr. Brook’s work is her commitment to establishing innovative community-engaged scholarship that advances the field of scholarship, promotes KU’s reputation for scholarly activity, and expands KU’s presence in community-based research. Working collaboratively with state child welfare agencies to establish Regional Partnerships in three different states (Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa), Dr. Brook led the refinement, implementation, and evaluation of strategies and interventions supporting children and families in the state child welfare systems. Results of this research in each of these three states has contributed greatly to moving the child welfare field toward evidence-based practice interventions and stewarded innovation in the field. Dr. Brook’s extraordinary scholarly contributions and leadership on a series of large-scale collaborative projects focused on improving social services for children and families experiencing maltreatment and substance use make her an outstanding recipient of this year’s Statland Award for this award.