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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Todd Kluss |
As America’s Senior Population Grows, Meeting To Outline Effective Education About Aging
The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) — the educational branch of The Gerontological Society of America — will hold its 37th Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference from March 17 to 20 at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati, OH. Media representatives are invited to attend free of charge.
This conference provides a forum for professionals in the field of aging to present their work and share ideas about gerontological and geriatric education and training. The theme for 2011 is “Living the Old Age We Imagine: Higher Education in an Aging Society.” Complete meeting details are available at www.aghe.org.
“Images of Aging: Lay and Scientific Perspectives”
Opening Plenary and Keynote Address: Thursday, March 17, 6:30 p.m.
Images of aging are critical to both lay persons and scientists, constraining or enabling actions that shape wellbeing across the life course. In this presentation, keynote speaker Kenneth Ferraro, PhD, will review widely-held images of aging — noting their social origins and consequences — and opportunities for gerontology educators to transform views of the aging process.
“A Roadmap for Accreditation in Gerontology/Geriatrics”
Past Presidents’ Symposium: Saturday, March 19, 1:30 p.m.
Gerontology programs face serious, primarily structural, challenges for survival. As the public seeks quality in addressing the soaring aging demographics, the workforce demand for credentialed/skilled professionals in aging is not established or available. This session will explore how AGHE can respond to the need for accreditation. A town hall meeting also will be held on Sunday, March 20 at 9 a.m. to field questions from this presentation.
“Living an Old Age Imagined”
Closing Plenary and Presidential Address: Sunday, March 20, 10:30 a.m.
Set against the background of a new-age old- age, AGHE President Graham Rowles PhD, will consider the role of gerontology education in combating ageism, reducing gerontological illiteracy, and enabling all people to live an old age they have imagined. He will make the argument that by ignoring the admonition of Henry David Thoreau to “Live the life you have imagined,” older adults themselves and society in general have fostered an old age that is for many, perhaps the majority, far less than it might be.
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The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) is the educational branch of The Gerontological Society of America, the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. AGHE seeks to advance gerontology as a field of study at institutions of higher education through conferences, publications, technical assistance, research studies, and consultation with policy makers. It is currently the only institutional member organization dedicated to gerontology and geriatrics education worldwide.
Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition
Presented to C. Joanne Grabinski, PhD, Eastern Michigan University, and Mary Alice Wolf, PhD, Saint Joseph University.
This award honors colleagues who are near retirement or recently retired. Recipients are individuals who have been actively involved in AGHE through service on committees, as elected officers, and/or have provided leadership in one of AGHE’s grant-funded projects.
Administrative Leadership Award
Presented to Tammy M. Bray, PhD, Oregon State University
This award honors administrators on AGHE member campuses who have made exceptional efforts in support of gerontology or geriatrics education.
David A. Peterson Gerontology & Geriatrics Education Best Paper of the Volume Award
Presented to Nina M. Silverstein, PhD, University of Massachusetts Boston; Elizabeth Johns, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston; and Judith A. Griffin, MA, MS, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the article “Students Explore Livable Communities.” Honorable mention is given to Emily J. Robbins, MS, Miami University; Jennifer M. Kinney, PhD, Miami University; and Cary S. Kart, PhD, Miami University, for the article “Promoting Active Engagement in Health Research: Lessons Learned from an Undergraduate Gerontology Capstone Course.”
The purpose of this award is to recognize excellence in scholarship in academic gerontology in AGHE’s official journal, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education.
Graduate Student Paper Award
Presented to Deborah Gray, MBA, University of Massachusetts Boston, for the paper “Weight and Wealth: The Relationship between Obesity and Net Worth for Pre-Retirement Age Men and Women.”
This award acknowledges excellence in scholarly work conducted by an AGHE Annual Meeting student attendee.
Book Award for Best Children’s Literature on Aging
Presented to Caitlin Dale Nicholson and Leona Morinn-Nelson for “Niwechihaw/I help” in the primary reader (pre-K to 2nd grade) category, and Ann Grifalconi and Jerry Pickney for “Ain’t Nobody A Stranger to Me” in the elementary reader (3rd to 5th grade) category.
This award recognizes portrayals of meaningful aging in children’s literature.