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Walter R. Schumm (born January 9, 1951) is a professor in the Department of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. He is also the editor-in-chief of the academic journal Marriage and Family Review.
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Education
Schumm received his B.S. in physics from the College of William and Mary in 1972, his M.S. in Family and Child Development from Kansas State University in 1976, and his Ph.D. in Family Studies from Purdue University in 1979.
Career
For 30 years (1972-2002), Schumm served as a colonel in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. He joined the faculty of Kansas State University in 1979.
Research
Schumm is known for his research on the putative adverse effects of LGBT parenting, and the state of Florida called on him to give expert testimony in support of their same-sex marriage ban when it was challenged in court in 2008. For example, in 2010, he published a study claiming that LGBT parents are more likely than non-LGBT parents to have LGBT children. In November 2012, he wrote a commentary in defense of the methodology of Mark Regnerus' New Family Structures Study (NFSS), which was originally published earlier that year and which claimed that children of same-sex parents were less likely to succeed later in life. Writing in the same journal (Social Science Research) that originally published the NFSS, Schumm claimed that “the methodological decisions he [Regnerus] made in the design and implementation of the New Family Structures Survey were not uncommon among social scientists, including many progressive, gay and lesbian scholars." Other academics subsequently criticized Schumm because he had served as a paid consultant to the NFSS early in its development.
Personal life
Schumm is married and has seven children. Among his children is Jonathan Schumm, a former member of the Topeka City Council who resigned in April 2016.