1968–1984
1968
Financial pressures to meet payroll and expenses are extreme. Hopes for funding rest on a proposal submitted to the National Institute of Mental Health for the Clergy-Youth Counseling Project. Proposal is approved, with funding to begin April 1, 1969.
John Ziegler is board chair.
CYR receives invitation from Notre Dame to develop research center in religious education.
1969
The funds from the National Institute of Mental Health are delayed; CYR borrows money from the bank to stay afloat.
CYR moves beyond the Lutheran church for board members and welcomes two businessmen, George Dayton and Herbert Bissell. To reflect the change, CYR becomes Youth Research Center (YRC).
Dorothy Williams, Milo Brekke, and John Ziegler join the staff.
Youth Forum Series by now has sold 200,000 copies.
The year ends on a high note with four grants bringing in $500,000. Three additional grants are awarded, and five new staff members are hired.
1970
A Study of Generations, funded by Lutheran Brotherhood, begins with seminarians traveling to 320 congregations to collect data.
George Dayton is board chair.
Co/Mes, an organization affiliated with Achievement Motivation Systems in Chicago, offers to buy YRC and hire all of its staff. YRC rejects the offer.
Staff increases to 18. YRC rents offices on the third floor of the Minnesota Church Center in addition to the second floor.
Six new titles are added to the Youth Forum Series.
1971
YRC is overdue on the manuscript for the book, A Study of Generations, which has monopolized the time and energy of staff.
Research on Religious Development: A Comprehensive Handbook is published; it is monumental because it brings together for the first time the results of 75 years of research in religion.
1972
A Study of Generations is published; called an “assured classic” by Time magazine.
Four staff members are released due to financial concerns. YRC is committed to retain core staff in three departments: research, human relations, and administration.
Several proposals are denied; long-term survival is a real issue.
1973
Three paperbacks are published, based on information from A Study of Generations.
Lutheran Brotherhood increases the length of its computer grants from two years to five years.
1974
Five Cries of Youth is published; it is significant because it presents data that refutes the position of national youth leaders who have bought in to Margaret Mead’s thesis of a “generation gap.”
Two major projects are under way: Readiness for Ministry for the Association of Theological Schools, funded by Lilly Endowment; and the Lutheran Seminarian project, a parallel study on ministry. A third study, of the 18 colleges of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA), is launched.
Lilly Endowment’s rejection of a much-hoped-for national training center for youth work professionals is a major disappointment.
1975
Reaffirmation of mission: knowledge base gained through research; linking research to practice.
Youth Survey is modified to a shorter version called Becoming the Gift.
1976
Readiness for Ministry project is successfully completed. Lilly Endowment awards additional funds to introduce the program to Association of Theological Schools seminaries over a six-year period.
National Institute of Mental Health awards grant for three-year study, Effecting Utilization: Experimental Use of Consultants.
1977
The continued broadening of YRC’s mission leads to a name change: Search Institute.
Staff moves to new location within the Minnesota Church Center.
Approval is granted for a study of the beliefs and values of members of Congress, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Two studies are completed: the LCA college study and the Lutheran Seminarian Project.
The need for a marketing program is identified.
1978
Search Institute celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Merton Strommen announces his intent to retire as president in mid-1984; sets goals to establish Search Institute as an institution with a secure future and distinctive mission.
Peter Benson joins the staff as a research scientist; leads study of beliefs and values of members of Congress.
1979
Search Institute Board of Directors adopts committee structure: executive, corporate development and finance, and research.
Ten Faces of Ministry, based on a survey of 5,000 Lutherans, is published.
1980
Ministry in America, based on a survey of 47 denominations, is released; reviewed in Time magazine.
Final report on the study of 18 LCA colleges is published.
1981
Lilly Endowment awards grant of $273,000 for the Study of Early Adolescents and Their Parents.
Peter Benson carries out the study Religion on Capitol Hill, which receives excellent coverage in Psychology Today.
Competition for grants increases; Search Institute Associates is formed to raise money for the organization.
1982
Religion on Capitol Hill: Myths and Realities is published.
Relationship with WQED public television in Pittsburgh is explored; television programming and a National Center for Youth, Their Families, & Society are envisioned.
Search Institute forms two boards: one to continue the tradition of serving as an advisory group to professional staff and one to assume a governance role with responsibility for seeking unrestricted funds.
1983
Search Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary with a gala dinner at the Decathalon Club.
Albert Quie is board chair.
Peter Benson becomes director of research.
Findings from the Study of Early Adolescents and Their Parents are presented at the Early Adolescence Invitational Conference in Nashville.
Merton Strommen is awarded Fellow status in the American Psychological Association, following his selection by Division 36 to receive the William James Award for career achievements in the psychology of religion.
Between 1983 and 1990, Search Institute conducts several national studies for the National Catholic Educational Association; this leads to publication of several reports that influence educational policy, teacher training, and staff development in Catholic schools.
Planned change process called Vision-to-Action is developed by Shelby Andress and Merton Strommen.
Board members secure a line of credit to meet payroll. Negotiations begin with Vesper Society, a nonprofit health, education, and service organization headquartered in San Leandro, California, to explore a possible merger to help stabilize financial conditions.
1984
Partnership with WQED results in the public television program Chemical People, which rallies people across the country in a fight against drug abuse.
Idea of a National Center for Youth, Their Families, & Society begins to sour due to a lack of visibility and funds.
Search Institute launches a five-year human sexuality project, directed by John Forliti. The Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs is the project funder; Vesper Society awards funds to develop video and curriculum materials.
Merton Strommen attends a reception at the White House with First Lady Nancy Reagan.
Income reaches an unprecedented $1,000,000.
Merton Strommen retires as president.
