Faculty member Helyne Frederick, program director of the Human Development and Family Studies program, has been awarded the Office of the Provost Award for Partnership, one of Carolina’s annual Public Service Awards.
Frederick was one of 11 individuals and one organization to be recognized for outstanding contributions to the campus and the community.
Frederick was honored for her work with community partners, schools and health care programs to create meaningful projects that enable student service-learning.
Through Frederick’s work, HDFS students learn, research and problem-solve while developing projects addressing topics like food insecurity, maternal care, socioemotional learning and substance abuse. Through the course, community partners receive intern support and final deliverables. Just this past year, Frederick placed 90 HDFS students in internships at agencies, schools, medical facilities and other organizations in Orange, Durham, Wake, Alamance, Chatham and Guilford counties.
The Carolina Center for Public Service presented the awards during a Friday (April 24) evening event that was held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Frederick joined the School of Education in 2017 to direct the HDFS program, launched the previous year.
The HDFS program is designed as a pre-professional program that allows Carolina undergraduates to major in a discipline aimed at helping improve the lives of children and families. The program is designed to prepare students for careers and continued education in a variety of “helping professions,” such as education, public health, social work, health services and counseling.
Frederick previously served as an associate professor and program director for the Family and Consumer Sciences Program at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She developed an HDFS program for Winthrop and led the program to obtain the Certified Family Life Educator credential from the National Council on Family Relations. She also served as assistant professor in the Child and Family Studies program at Eastern Kentucky University.