February 16, 2009

Kay Reed to speak on relationships and marriage

SEARCY, Ark. – Kay Reed, executive director of The Dibble Institute for Marriage Education, will be speaking Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Heritage Auditorium at Harding University. Reed will be making a case for relationship and marriage education with her presentation titled "Don't Worry, It's Just My First Wedding."

Reed is the co-founder of The Dibble Institute in Berkeley, Calif. In the past 30 years, she has worked in the fields of youth development and nonprofit management with the March of Dimes, YMCA and secondary education. She studied psychology at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore.

The presentation will discuss Charlie Dibble's mission and vision, why marriage matters, the benefits of young people learning relationship skills, and how to help teens navigate their romantic lives.

The Dibble Institute is a nonprofit leader in the field of relationship and marriage education. It develops, publishes and distributes materials that teach teens the skills needed for healthy romantic relationships.

This event is sponsored by the Coleman Distinguished Lecture Series of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Harding. It is free and open to the public.

Harding had a record enrollment this year of more than 6,500 students from 48 states and 52 foreign countries. It is the largest private university in Arkansas and attracts more National Merit Scholars than any other private university in the state. Harding also maintains campuses in Australia, Chile, England, France/Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Zambia.