New Leadership in the College of Education and Human Development

With the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, the University of Delaware College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is pleased to announce new leadership in its Department of Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS).

Beginning on August 16, Jason Hustedt, professor and interim chair of HDFS, began his term as chair of the department. His term will continue through August 2029. Sara Goldstein, professor in HDFS, also began her term as director of graduate studies.

Hustedt’s research centers on early childhood policy and practice with particular attention to parent-child interactions in low-income families, outcomes related to public early childhood programs and the implications of state and federal early childhood policies. His work addresses the conditions under which services and programs are effective with attention to promoting equitable outcomes for all children. With funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies, he has pursued projects on Early Head Start parenting interventions, large-scale evaluations of state pre-K programs and more, often partnering with HDFS colleagues. He has also served as the research director for CEHD’s Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood since 2011.

Within HDFS, Hustedt teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on topics such as child and family policy, research methods and early childhood administration, leadership and advocacy. He previously served as program director for the master’s and Ph.D. programs in HDFS.

Goldstein’s research focuses on human development across the lifespan, especially social and psychological adjustment during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Specifically, her research has focused on the predictors and consequences of gendered aggression, bullying and peer-based harassment. She also examines other aspects of adjustment including academic motivation and achievement, mental health and maladaptive behaviors. Her current project explores how parenting during emerging adulthood is linked with parent-youth relationship characteristics, youth autonomy development and with youth social and psychological adjustment.

Within HDFS, Goldstein teaches graduate courses related to lifespan development, child and adolescent development and research methodology.

About HDFS

Housed within CEHD, HDFS has 23 full-time faculty members who serve over 450 students. HDFS offers undergraduate majors in early childhood education, human services and human relations administration and minors in human development and family sciences and medical social services. The department also offers several robust graduate programs at both the master’s and doctoral level including a Ph.D. in human development and family sciences, a M.S. in human development and family sciences and interdisciplinary, joint programs with other University of Delaware colleges, including a Ph.D. in education and social policy.

Supported by the National Institute of Health, the Spencer Foundation and other foundations and federal agencies, HDFS faculty contribute rigorous, community-informed research that addresses critical issues in human development and family sciences. Their research programs contribute to many areas, including child development, early childhood programs, systems and policy, early literacy, family policies and services and the social determinants of health, among many others.

HDFS faculty are recognized for their contributions to national and international conversations about critical human development and family issues, lead organizations working to address those issues and provide a range of supports to the agencies at the front lines of improving opportunities and outcomes for children, families and communities.

Article by Jessica Henderson. Graphic by Shelly Silva.