The role of fathers will be a topic of discussion tonight.

Ross Parke, professor of psychology, presidential chairman and director of the Center for Family Studies at the University of California at Riverside, will speak at 8 tonight in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

“Dr. Ross Parke is an internationally renowned expert on the subject of fathers,” said Rand Conger, professor of agricultural sociology.

Parke centers his research on the development of social behavior in young children, said Pat Miller, coordinator for the Committee on Lectures. He has also delved into the different styles in which mothers and fathers interact with their children, she said, and how the family and peer systems affect each other.

Parke has written and co-written several articles including “Throwaway Dads,” “Fatherhood,” “Family-peer Relationships” and “Child Psychology: A Contemporary Viewpoint,” Miller said.

“Parke is a marvelous way to close the series on `Strengthening Families to Become the Best,'” she said.

The session should also be applicable to a wide variety of people.

“For anyone interested in the effects fathers have on children, this will be a very exciting talk for them to attend,” Conger said. “I think there will be a broad mix of people who attend it. The talks will be interesting to both scientists and the public.”