Our History


From left: Jean Piaget seated (center); Edna Noble White; Merrill Palmer's Child Development Laboratory, now the Early Childhood Center

The Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute's mission is to promote and improve the development, health and well-being of infants, children, youth and their families across the lifespan, through research, training and outreach.

Merrill-Palmer in Detroit: A Century of Community Making (1920-2020) – A digital version of our historical exhibit celebrating our 100th Anniversary. This  exhibit is currenly on display in the Pauline Knapp Building on Wayne State's campus.
THEN & NOW : Brief History of the Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute


In 1916, Lizzie Pitts Merrill Palmer left a bequest to found the Merrill-Palmer School. She believed that "… the welfare of any community is divinely, and inseparably, dependent upon the quality of its motherhood and the spirit and character of its homes."  Mrs. Merrill Palmer thought that training women and men in child development and family functioning would build both the families and communities. Through the insightful leadership of Tracy McGregor, the executor of Mrs. Merrill Palmer's will, the School was organized, found a home in the Freer House, and began operating by 1920. 

Edna Noble White, an early pioneer in child development research, was hired by Mr. McGregor in 1919 and served as the first director of the school from 1920 until 1947. Well ahead of her time, Ms. White established the highly innovative model of multidisciplinary training, research and community engagement that informs MPSI to this day. 

The Institute's early efforts were aimed at serving Detroit's children through formal academic programs in infant, toddler, child and adolescent development, and in family functioning, for both professionals and parents/caregivers. Over the decades, MPSI trained students from across the nation and around the world, and hosted renowned visiting scientists including Jean Piaget and Margaret Mead. Today graduate research training program at MPSI includes students in social work, developmental and clinical psychology, and neuroscience. MPSI training today also features the world's only dual-title Infant Mental Health program in which students can earn graduate degrees in infant mental health and, education or nursing or social work.

MPSI established a nursery school in 1922, later named the "Child Development Laboratory," as both a training site for its students and a resource for the community, and that served as a model for similar organizations across the country for decades. Today, in collaboration with colleagues in the College of Education, the current Early Childhood Centers on campus remain honored and valued resources, and community anchors of the Woodward Corridor Early Childhood Consortium.

MPSI has a long and respected history of producing ground-breaking research in the area of child development, and in providing training and education to scientists at many levels and in various fields. For example, MPSI researchers played important roles in the emergence of the field of pediatric nutrition (i.e., the work of Icie Macy Hoobler), standardized assessment of child development (i.e., "the Merrill-Palmer Scales"), the concept of "school readiness," and the development of national standards for Head Start programs. Today's MPSI researchers and their collaborators across the university continue to have an impact nationally in areas of infant mental health, adolescent development, developmental neurobiology, prenatal substance exposures, child maltreatment, early childhood education, and more.  

In 1981, MPSI was incorporated into Wayne State University as a university-wide research institute within the Office of the Vice President for Research. In 2005, the Merrill Palmer Institute for Child Development was merged with Wayne State's Skillman Center for Children and Families to form the current Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child & Family Development. The vision of the Skillman Center to promote the well-being of children, especially in urban settings was perfectly consistent with the mission of the Merrill Palmer Institute and the merger increased MPSI's reach and effectiveness in community outreach and advocacy through the current Healthier Urban Families program.

Today, under Director Alissa Huth-Bocks, MPSI continues to serve as a model of multidisciplinary research, training and community outreach and engagement, and as a leader in child development at Wayne State University, across Detroit and Michigan, and beyond.


ALUMNI SHARE MEMORIES

From MPSI Newsletter - Imprints, Posted April 4, 2020 

Suzanne Toaspern-Holm, Chico, CA

"I was a graduate student who worked from 1971-72 with Clark Moustakas and Cereta Perry. It was a year of challenges and growth. I lived on campus and I worked with teachers and students in a local elementary school. As a privileged suburbanite from California, everything about my stay at Merrill-Palmer was an education. Everything about that year is significant in my heart.  

Living and working outside my comfort zone in an environment that promoted openness, compassion and honesty helped me grow and hopefully led me to promote those attributes in my own work. I am extremely grateful for my Merrill-Palmer experience and for all that M-P has contributed to the enrichment of children and the people who work with them."

Alease Johnson

"Congratulations on this amazing achievement [MPSI centennial]. My son attended the Merrill-Palmer Institute in the 90s and to this day we still appreciate what he learned. We remember it fondly, and he is still in contact with classmates. Great work, great institution."

Leigh Lucart, PhD, Sedona, AZ

"My years at Merrill-Palmer are remembered with great fondness!! I received a rich and enduring education from Clark Moustakas and Cereta Perry; two exceptional human beings and educators. Also, I enjoyed our very civilized school schedule, with Tea Time from 3:00 4:00 each day in the Freer House. And whenever we had guest speakers, they were hosted in the beautiful Peacock Room with champagne, appetizers and lots of good chats. I was privileged to be part of this wonderful 'era' in the life and history of the prestigious Merrill-Palmer Institute!!!"

Dorothy Parks Szymanski, 92

"In 1948, I spent my fall semester at Merrill-Palmer. I was a senior from Penn State in the Home Economics Department. I lived in a house across the street from the Freer House. I believe Miss Saunders was the house mother. At MP, I worked with children in a Detroit Settlement House.

Many years ago on a field trip, I sat next to a new member of our weaver's guild. She mentioned she had gone to a small school at one point 'that you never would have heard of.' When she said 'Merrill-Palmer' it immediately cemented our friendship. I treasure her as one of my best 'young' friends (see below)."

Barbara Blumenschein Stam, 81, Fallston, MD

"As a senior studying at Iowa State College (now University), I spent the spring semester of 1959 at Merrill-Palmer. It was a privileged opportunity. My experiences were centered on the study of family issues. I interviewed parents who were observing their children in the nursery school and also several families in their homes. I remember the awe and embarrassment in a class session when Margaret Mead stepped into the classroom and asked what we would like to ask her. Regrettably we were tongue-tied and speechless!

In 1971, I had the pleasure of learning to weave. This led to the joy of friendship with Dorothy Szymanski (see Szymanski above). The months at Merrill-Palmer were brief in my lifetime, but the lessons and inspirations have served me, my family and surrounding community in marvelous and useful ways. It is rewarding to be able to contribute to the lives of others. Thank you Merrill-Palmer!"