Richard James Gelles

Richard J. Gelles is currently a dean at the University of Pennsylvania and holds The Joanne and Raymond Welsh Chair of Child Welfare and Family Violence in the School of Social Policy & Practice. He is the Director for the Center for Research on Youth & Social Policy and Co-Director of the Field Center for Children's Policy Practice & Research.

Trivia

* Dr. Gelles is an internationally known expert in domestic violence and child welfare. He was influential in the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.

* Dr. Gelles is the author of the highly influential book, "The Violent Home", which was the first systematic investigation to provide empirical data on domestic violence. His more recent books, "The Book of David: How Preserving Families Can Cost Children's Lives" and "Intimate Violence in Families, Third Edition", have also made a significant impact in the study of child welfare and family violence. He is the author of 24 books and more than 100 articles, chapters and papers.

* Most recently, Dr. Gelles co-authored "Current Controversies on Family Violence" (2005) with M. Cavanaugh and D. Loseke. He is currently in the process of co-authoring another text, "Intimate Violence and Abuse in Families".