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Academic Advisory Board
of Spectrum Institute
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The Scientific Study of People Who Are Single: An Annotated Bibliography

Chronicle of Higher Education: Being Single in the Academic World

Academic Research With a grant from the Marchionne Foundation, we are documenting research which has been done on issues affecting unmarried individuals, couples, parents, and families. We sent a survey form to hundreds of college and university professors to assess the level of interest in these issues and this constituency. (See cover letter and survey form.) The results were compiled in June 2003 and we are pleased to present the survey results here.	Amicus Curiae Briefs For many years, Spectrum Institute has filed friend-of-the-court briefs in test cases throughout the nation affecting the substantial rights of unmarried and single people. Briefs have also been filed with administrative agencies. These cases have involved privacy rights, equal benefits at work, and fair housing. We bring facts and legal precedents to these decision makers which otherwise might have been neglected by the parties to the cases.
Demographics We continually monitor changes and trends in social and economic demographics involving unmarried and single Americans. This data, as well as related news stories and commentaries are reported on the website of Unmarried America. We share this information with college students and professors, as well as elected officials and corporations.	Advice and Testimony The staff of Spectrum Institute and members of its Academic Advisory board are often called upon by journalists, reporters, legislative bodies, and corporate executives for advice, opinions, information, and expert testimony on issues affecting America's 86 million unmarried and single adults.
Public Policy Reports Members of Spectrum Institute have assisted elected officials as they have conducted public policy studies on marital status discrimination, personal privacy, family diversity, and domestic partnership rights. We have served as consultants, authors of reports, commissioners, task force members, and staff members to these studies. Many of these studies have resulted in major changes in public policy which have significantly improved the lives of unmarried and single men and women.	News Archives Sound public policy and good scholarship require a factual basis which is accurate and comprehensive. A core function of Spectrum Institute is to monitor national and international news and current events which affect and involve single people. Whether it is political, economic, social, legal, or academic, we continually monitor and report news stories and publish them on the website of Unmarried America. These stories are subsequently placed in news archives on the site.
Book Releases Scores of books, both scholarly and self-help, have been written about and for various types of single people, including solo singles, single women, single parents, unmarried couples, divorcees, and widowed people. Our staff monitors new book releases and lists them on the website of Unmarried America. We also invite authors of these books to become honorary members of Unmarried Americans a way of thanking them for their contribution to the growing body of literature about unmarried people. Stories about the academic dimension of our work:. Professor Bella DePaulo to lead Academic Advisory Board College student interns are making a difference Research grant received from Marchionne Foundation	Academic Advisory Board (From left to right) Dr. Michael F. Valente, Professor E. Kay Trimberger, Executive Director Thomas F. Coleman, Professor Bella DePaulo, and Professor Stan Charnofsky.
Contact information for staff:	Contact information for Advisory Board:
Thomas F. Coleman Executive Director coleman@unmarriedAmerica.org	Professor Bella DePaulo Chairperson bmd@virginia.edu