A Note From:
IOA Director Victor Marshall
Building On Our Research Strengths
So long as I can remember, the state of North Carolina has been strong in aging research, and I sense it has never been stronger than now. With the election of Peggye Dilworth-Anderson (Director of IOA’s Center for Aging and Diversity) as President-Elect of The Gerontological Society of America, we are reminded that she will not be the first GSA president from North Carolina. GSA is currently led by Lisa Gwyther (Duke University) and has been led in other years by professors Chuck Longino (Wake Forest, who also chairs the IOA Statewide Advisory Council), Harvey Cohen, Linda George and George Maddox (all at Duke). Dan Blazer, also at Duke, has served as president of the American Geriatrics Society, and Chuck Longino has been president of both AGHE and the Southern Gerontological Society in addition to GSA. I have no doubt missed several other presidents, and they are of course only one indicator of the stature of North Carolina on the national aging research scene. Peter Uhlenberg has just become Chair of the Section on Aging and the Life Course of the American Sociological Association, and Glen Elder has served in that role as well.
Statewide there is a lot of research going on and we try to feature it in this newsletter in two ways. Our “new and notable” column lists all aging publications and other involvements by North Carolina aging researchers and practitioners of which we become aware (we rely on you, our readers, to send us your news). Our regular column on research across the state, by Jennifer Craft Morgan, gives a picture of activities in other universities and colleges. With the establishment of the North Carolina Colleges Aging Network (NCCAN), we hope that more news from gerontologists in North Carolina’s 33 independent colleges and universities will be coming to us for forwarding to you.
Statewide, the best way to meet other researchers in aging, and the service providers, state officials and aging advocates who can inform your research, use it, and partner in it, is the annual North Carolina Conference on Aging. We expect about 600 people to attend this year’s conference October 28-30 in Greenville.
On the home-base campus of the Institute on Aging, there is an ongoing assessment process that builds upon the Aging Research Retreat: Disciplinary Depth, Multidisciplinary Breadth, and Interdisciplinary Linkages event held last fall. Since that time the planning committee for the retreat has continued to meet to prepare a report to the Vice-Chancellor, Research and Economic Development, with recommendations as to how we might capitalize on our numerical strengths and considerable research talent across a wide spectrum of disciplines. This report will be completed this fall and subject to discussion at The Aging Exchange. This will be an important occasion and hopefully a turning point on the UNC at Chapel Hill campus, as we try to create synergies based on the strengths of the 165 people who are listed in the Aging@UNC directory. (Concerning the directory, the IOA does not have the resources to make this inclusive of all campuses, but we can offer consultation to any campus that wishes to establish its own).
One development from last fall’s retreat is already affecting planning for The Aging Exchange. Since first held six years ago, the event has provided an opportunity for graduate students, postdoctoral and clinical fellows to make presentations. This will continue. However, at the research retreat many of the 120 faculty expressed a desire to have more opportunities to meet and share information with other researchers on the campus. This year’s Aging Exchange will feature poster presentations from faculty and research staff in addition to students. Another change this year is that only the poster format is available. Time formerly used for student presentations will be used for papers presented by faculty and student presentations from this year’s Gordon H. DeFriese award winners, and from the student winner of the ICARUS award at last year’s Aging Exchange. The value of cash prizes for students will be increased (sorry, but faculty and other non-student researchers are not eligible for prizes). The Aging Exchange is a campus-wide event with a planning committee representing the several areas of the campus and with generous support from most of the professional schools at UNC as well as from The Carol Woods Retirement Community. This year the event’s lead co-sponsor is ICARUS, a research development and mentoring project administratively housed in the Center for Aging and Health of the School of Medicine with co-directors from Social Work, Nursing and Medicine, and funded by the Hartford Foundation.
On the Chapel Hill campus the IOA has also begun a partnership with the Institute for the Arts and Humanities to support that small band of scholars, from several different departments, who are interested in aging, the arts and humanities. We hosted a successful seminar with guest Harry R. (Rick) Moody, Director of Academic Affairs for AARP, followed by an informal discussion to assess interest in some further networking events. We will continue this effort this fall, and events will be open to anyone interested, not restricted to UNC at Chapel Hill people.
In closing I would like to mention another research-related event. As noted elsewhere, Dr. Mary Altpeter has stepped down from her position as Associate Director for Program Development and will remain with the Institute as a Senior Research Scientist. Dating from the birth of the IOA in 1996, the Institute has established a national and indeed international reputation in the healthy aging area, and this has been due in part to her leadership on our CDC-funded Healthy Aging Network (in partnership with the Center for Aging and Health and the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention), and in part to her great success in securing other grants and contracts to extend this work. Her success in this area has made it impossible for her to maintain her administrative duties. Fortunately, Ellen Schneider (who will continue to work extensively with Mary in our healthy aging initiatives) has agreed to assume these responsibilities in addition to her previous responsibility for communications and program relations. Words cannot express the extent of my appreciation of Mary Altpeter’s contributions to the Institute on Aging’s general administration, and I am delighted that she will continue to build the IOA’s research program in the healthy aging area.
All in all, the coming academic year promises to be exciting for aging research at the IOA, more broadly on the UNC at Chapel Hill campus, and statewide. Increased communication and collaboration at all these levels, and among them, will enhance our efforts. Please send your thoughts to me on how this might happen and indicate if you would like them posted in next month’s NC*Aging Newsletter.