News Release

Newly Constituted Statewide Advisory Council for Institute on Aging

March 9, 2007

Tony Waldrop, Vice-Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at UNC at Chapel Hill, has appointed thirteen people to a re-organized and reconstituted Statewide Advisory Council (SAC) for the Institute on Aging. The appointments became effective on March 1, 2007. The new Council replaces the Statewide Advisory Committee. With just thirteen members, it is half the size of the former Committee. The purpose of the Council is to provide review, advice and guidance to the Institute concerning its statewide mission, which is to enhance the well-being of older people in North Carolina by fostering statewide collaboration in research, education and service.

Victor Marshall, IOA Director, expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the former Statewide Advisory Committee, noting the important role it played in guiding the IOA through its early years and, in particular, in establishing the North Carolina Gerontology Consortium (NCGC). With the NCGC in place and functioning effectively for several years, the Institute relies on the Consortium for advice on educational issues. The elected chair of the NCGC, Professor Dena Shenk of UNC Charlotte, will serve on the new Statewide Advisory Council, as will an additional NCGC member, Professor Althea Taylor-Jones of Winston-Salem State University.

The new Council now includes sectors of the community not previously represented. Representative Jean Farmer-Butterfield, Chair of the Aging Committee of the North Carolina House of Representatives, will serve as the first legislator on the Council. Another member, Cynthia Snyder, of the State Government Affairs department of GlaxoSmithKline, Inc., will represent the business sector. Other members represent the academic sector,the aging network, statewide and direct services to seniors, and consumers. A full listing of the Statewide Advisory Council members is available for download. The inaugural meeting of the Statewide Advisory Council will be held in May.