Graduate Programs receive $10,000 research contract

               Dr. Kirk Harlow, Chair, Health and Public Administration at Midwestern State University announced the receipt of a $10,000 research contract with FEI Behavioral Health, a Milwaukee, WI company that provides employee assistance programs, crisis response, and work and family programs to organizations.  FEI Behavioral Health is one of four organizations that are part of Families International, Inc., a not-for-profit organization.  FEI has been in operation since 1979 and is one of the largest behavioral health companies in the United States.  A pioneer in behavioral health, FEI developed the first national network Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with the Xerox Corporation in 1979, and offered one of the first true integrated EAP and Work-Life programs in 1990.

According to Dr. Harlow, the contract is to assist FEI with research and evaluation of its program services to its customer companies.  Dr. Harlow noted, "FEI has contracts with over 100 companies in the U.S. ranging from small businesses to Fortune 100 firms.  Our research contract gives us the opportunity to work with them to assess how the different program services they offer affect the well being of employees and the organization's bottom line.  Being part of a group involved in working with this many different organizations is a remarkable opportunity." 

Dr. Harlow has been involved in similar research for over 20 years and has worked with numerous companies including Prudential Financial Services, Halliburton, Conoco/Phillips, Kimberly-Clark, and Reliant Energy.  According to Dr. Harlow, "Most research in this field examines one company at a time.  This contract makes it possible to look at a cross-section of organizations and conduct analyses that are typically not possible."