UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — James Van Horn, an esteemed faculty member in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the founder of Penn State Extension’s Better Kid Care program, is being remembered by colleagues as an innovator in childhood development and education.
The professor emeritus of rural sociology died Feb. 8 at his home in State College. He was 85 years old.
Ted Alter, professor of agricultural, environmental and regional economics in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, worked with Van Horn for many years and lauded his important contributions to the department and extension.
“Jim was a visionary intellectual, educational and organizational leader in his disciplinary and extension program responsibilities,” said Alter, a past department head and former director of Penn State Extension. “Jim challenged the status quo to improve his own and others’ extension programming. He was always available to assist others in making these transitions.”
A key example of Van Horn’s creativity and innovation is the Better Kid Care program, which impacts Pennsylvania and beyond. The program, administered by Penn State Extension, provides professional development opportunities for those who care for children and youth.
Ordained in the Catholic ministry, Van Horn received a Doctor of Divinity from the Athenaeum of Ohio in 1963. He continued his education at the Catholic University of America, where he earned a master’s degree in 1967.
Van Horn founded the Marriage and Family Therapy Center for the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, where he served as the principal marriage and family therapist. He was active in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and was proud to have participated in several marches.
After earning his doctorate from the Ohio State University in 1975, Van Horn embarked on a 45-year career in education, beginning with appointments at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing, Ohio Dominican University and Ohio State.
He joined the Penn State faculty in 1969, dividing his time between teaching and Penn State Extension. His extension responsibilities include programming in family stress/strengths, parent education, work-family issues and child care. He worked primarily with county-based family living extension educators, providing in-service training and educational curricula.
A certified family life educator with the National Council on Family Relations, Van Horn founded the Better Kid Care program in 1988 and served as its director until his retirement in 2010. Better Kid Care is accredited in more than 47 states and has provided education and resources for thousands of early childhood educators in 187 countries.
Denise Continenza, an educator with extension’s food, family, and health program team, said Van Horn was committed to ensuring that children had the best possible care, whether in their homes or child care programs.
“He developed training workshops and resources that took research-based information to parents, early childhood educators and anyone who interacts with children,” she said. “His work helped to create environments and practices that gave children opportunities to grow and thrive.”
Wearing his trademark red suspenders and “Save the Children” ties, he hosted and produced more than 100 televised educational programs on childhood development topics, ranging from handling behavioral issues to fostering creativity in children. He would deliver the content — often via satellite feed — while extension educators across the state would show his program locally and provide on-site facilitation of activities.
Van Horn understood the time constraints on childcare providers and met their needs by using distance learning before it was widely adopted, according to Claudia Mincemoyer, professor emeritus of agricultural and extension education. Mincemoyer said Van Horn entrusted her to serve as director of Better Kid Care upon his retirement.
“Jim built a ‘gold star’ reputation for Better Kid Care,” she said. “With his mentorship, the program continued to expand and adapt with new technologies and now offers more than 200 courses delivered online, continuing the legacy that Jim built. He will be remembered as a wonderful colleague and a friend who was quick with a story, a kind word and a laugh.”
In 1999, Van Horn received the Penn State Award for Faculty Outreach, recognizing faculty who make significant contributions to engaged scholarship through outreach.
A Celebration of Life is planned for 11 a.m., July 2, at Our Lady of Victory Church, State College.