Founding Director of adoption centre appointed

Founding Director of adoption centre appointed. Professor Gordon Harold - an expert in child development and the role of the family in children's psychological development - has been appointed to the new post of the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Chair in Psychology. His focus after arriving at Sussex this October will be to establish and lead a new adoption research centre at the University. The Andrew and Virginia Rudd Centre for Adoption Research and Practice will look at the major challenges facing children and families in transition as well as specific challenges faced by adopted children and their families. It represents a collaborative partnership between the School of Psychology and the School of Education & Social Work. The Centre is being established with a generous £1.5 million donation by Sussex graduate Andrew Rudd and his wife Virginia, whose interest stems from their experience as the parents of both adopted and biological children. As founding Director of the Centre, Professor Harold will lead a team of psychologists, social workers and education specialists at the University who will be looking at the many and profound ways through which early separation or trauma followed by adoption shapes the lives of all involved, and how adoptive families, and other families in transition, can best support these children.