# 22 MEET THE MOTHER OF FAMILY REUNIONS

# 22 MEET THE MOTHER OF FAMILY REUNIONS

DR. IONE D. VARGUS

In June 1990, Claude Lewis editorial writer of The Philadelphia Inquirer Newspaper wrote, “If Alex Haley can be called the Father of Family Reunions, Dr. Ione D. Vargus can be called the Mother of Family Reunions.” In that same year, The Family Reunion Institute emerged because of the many requests for information after two previous African American Family Reunion Conferences. The conference planning committee recognized from the responses and from requests for service and information, that it could begin to work with families outside of traditional family agency structures. However, it would need to have a more organized and permanent existence. Thus, the Institute was formally established at the School of Social Administration at Temple University. Its administrator was Dr. Ione D. Vargus, Professor Emeritus, formally the acting Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Temple University, the School of Social Administration for a total of seventeen years.


She was Temple’s first African American as well as the first female academic Dean. Dr. Vargus now serves as a volunteer to the organization.


Dr. Vargus began her research on African American family reunions in 1986. She traveled the east coast, north and south to attend family Reunions for Conferences on African American Reunions. She continues collecting information about families and their reunions.


Dr. Vargus has published a number of different topics and has been profiled and/or quoted in many local and national magazines and newspapers.

Links:
http://www.temple.edu/fri/familyreunion/founder.html
http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1413&category=Educationmakers