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Global Business of Aging
Pitch Competition
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Pedagogical Opportunities in the Expanding Longevity Economy
Janice Wassel
Senior Research Scientist & Part-Time Instructor
Western Kentucky University
Director, Center for Gerontology & Professor Family and Consumer Sciences
Western Kentucky University
In the 1950s, public service posters hung in the New York City subways reading, "Every day 11,000 babies are born in America. This means new businesses, new jobs, new opportunities" (Jones, 1980). As we all recognize, those babies are now aging and becoming older adults moving into new life course stages with changing tastes and needs. However, the posters' message remains salient. Recently Paul Irving, chairman of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging wrote, "If a group of corporate leaders and investors learned of a transformational business opportunity, we'd expect a stampede to phones and computers as they raced to get in on the action.
Today, we are presented with just such an opportunity: the potential offered by human longevity" (Irving, 2017). The boomer's aging in a global context present vast opportunities for innovative individuals who realize aging affects much more than the health care sector. American boomers were the first generation of children to be cultivated as consumers. This cohort created fads, drove new merchandising to popularize products and stimulated the economy. This new consumerism of children and youth in the 1950s was followed by the baby boomers of other countries fortifying the U.S. economy. Today, we are offered similar opportunities and challenges to provide innovations and perspectives on aging. One of our greatest tasks as gerontological educators is helping professionals, students, and businesses understand their role in providing new products, technologies, and services for the growing older population.
Keep reading...
This piece was contributed on behalf of the Business and Aging Committee.
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C Joanne Grabinski with three of her small
original needlepoint design pieces - The Blues 1, 2, 3 -
that were in the recent "fiber of life" Textile Exhibit
at 515 Gallery in Clare, MI.
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Emeritus Member Spotlight:
C Joanne Grabinski, FAGHE
Interviewed by Elizabeth Bergman, Associate Professor, Ithaca College Gerontology Institute, AGHExchange Editor
Q1: Please tell me about your career in gerontology. What did you do? Where did you do it?
My career in gerontology officially began when I was selected to be the first Director of the Interdisciplinary Gerontology Program (IGP) at Central Michigan University (CMU). As an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Home Economics, Family Life & Consumer Education, I already was teaching courses on middle adult development and aging/aging families. The IGP was a free-standing academic campus-wide academic unit based around an undergraduate minor in gerontology. Shortly after I became the IGP Director, I was awarded a grant from the Michigan Department of Mental Health to deliver education and training about Alzheimer's disease and Related Conditions to professionals, paraprofessionals, and families in a multi-county central Michigan region. I served as IGP Director and Assistant Professor of Gerontology at CMU for seven years and as the grant administrator for five years.
Keep Reading...
Q2: How did you come to work in the field of gerontology?
When I was working on my MA in Family Relations at Central Michigan University in 1979-80, one of my family studies professors encouraged me to "find my niche" in the field, preferably some aspect that was receiving little or no attention. My "niche" combined my interest in adult development, especially middle and later adulthood, and family structures and processes. My thesis focused on gaining an overview of aging-specific/related courses and research by faculty in Home Economics colleges/ universities in the United States. My interest in aging, however, was first sparked by the relationship I had with my maternal grandfather for the first 11 years of my life and also experiencing his relationship with his six adult children and their families. Later, during high school and early college years, I worked in a local flower shop where my boss (in her late 60s) and one co-worker (in her 70s) were older adults who shared with me insights about their own aging and family relationships. Shortly after successfully defending my thesis, I was offered a temporary faculty position at CMU, where one of the courses I taught was one of four large sections of the 100-level lifespan development course for which the syllabus jumped FROM young adult development that focused on career development, marriage and beginning parenting TO death and dying, without consideration of adult development and aging. During that year, I began attending the loosely-shaped faculty gerontology committee that oversaw the "speakers series" style intro to gerontology course...and I was hooked. When it was time for the internship for my doctoral program, the faculty gerontology committee gained approval for me to review and advise/recommend on several aspects of the program. They asked me to review and recommend ways to improve the requirements for the undergraduate minor in gerontology, develop a syllabus for the introduction to gerontology course that would make it a one-instructor taught course, and make recommendations about the placement within the university and the structure and leadership of the gerontology program. Based on my recommendations, the committee's decision, with approval from the oversight dean, was to hire a program director and have that person become the instructor of record for the introduction to gerontology course. I was delighted to be offered and accept the position, which I held for seven years before I left CMU.
Q3: What are the professional accomplishments of which you are most proud?
- Creating learning experiences relevant for individual students and clients, whenever possible, by using real life experiences, educational films and movies, case studies, literature (non-fiction essays & memoirs; fiction novels; poetry), art and music, and games to explain, enhance and apply the scholarly research and theory upon which the field is based.
- My teaching and writing specific to careers in the field of aging, including my development of the first ever in the country course on careers in gerontology, the two editions of my book on careers in gerontology, and articles in professional newsletters and presentations for both student and lay audiences. I am especially pleased by being able to share such a wide array of career options through the interviews with such excellent professionals and the array of possible career positions (actually more than 200 per edition) in my books.
- Being honored by AGHE in five different ways (in chronological order:
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1.
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Designated as a Distinguished Teacher
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2.
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Election to the Executive Committee as a Member-at-Large
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3.
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Selection as an AGHE Fellow in Gerontology & Geriatrics Education
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4.
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Part-Time Faculty Certificate of Recognition
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5.
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Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition |
Q4: What did membership in AGHE mean to you/your career?
AGHE was the professional organization that became my true professional home. AGHE gave me a community with goals in common-albeit often in different thoughts and ways of working toward them, and a network that remains accessible to this day. It was a place to have meaningful dialogues; find relevant teaching resources and methodologies; gain confidence in my abilities as a facilitator of learning and program administrator; ponder, discuss, debate, and accept or reject ideas and ways to practice as a gerontology educator.
Keep reading...
Q5: Please tell me about your activities in retirement. Are these activities an extension or continuation of earlier interests, or are they new?
As I began to prepare for the time I would step away from my academic career, I intentionally set about deciding and getting started on my "What comes next?" and I chose two paths to follow-art and creative writing.
Keep reading...
Q6. As a gerontologist, with extensive knowledge of the aging process, is there anything about growing older that has surprised you? If so, what? Why, do you suppose?
So far, I have not encountered anything about growing older that has surprised me. One major reason for this, I feel, is that I had to keep up with such a broad array of topics because of the multiple and diverse courses I taught, presentations I gave, writing I did, and other professional opportunities I had as a gerontology educator. This all has given me an excellent foundation and resources I can and do tap into as I work to age productively and face challenges.
Q7: What are you looking forward to next?
More good years to live as well and as productively as I can. More time with my husband, our son and his lady. Continuing to grow as an artist and as a creative writer and to build the network of colleagues in both of these new worlds. Fulfilling my financial commitment to the ICCA Creative Writing Scholarship at Interlochen so we can award more than one scholarship a year. Living a creative life as fully as I can. Along the way, remembering and appreciating the wonderful career I had as a gerontology educator and, hopefully, reconnecting at least momentarily with former colleagues I had the privilege to know and work with all those years.
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Call for Awards/Honors Nominations
Deadline: August 15
Do you have colleagues, administrators, and students who have advanced the field of aging? Have you, your students, or colleagues been inspired by someone who deserves recognition for making a difference? Honor these individuals by nominating them for an AGHE award or honor. The call for nominations closes Tuesday, August 15, 2017. Visit the AGHE website for additional details and instructions on all awards, honors and recognitions.
Awards
(
Adjudicated process marking a person's
significant achievements or contributions
):
HIRAM J. FRIEDSAM MENTORSHIP AWARD
DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD
STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARD
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Intergenerational Learning, Reseach, and Community Engagement Committee
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September is Intergeneration Month -
Let's Intergenerate!
September has been designated each year as US Intergeneration Month (IGM). Your Intergenerational Learning, Research, and Community Engagement Committee (ILRCE) is providing this "starter" information and encouraging AGHE membership to get an early start on promoting and planning celebrations of
Intergeneration Month. This intergenerational initiative began in 2000 as "Intergeneration Day" and in 2012 Intergeneration Month was launched. Dr. Sally Newman, founder of the ILRCE committee and a champion of intergenerational scholarship and practice in gerontology noted that increased age segregation in our society has resulted in decreased intergenerational exchange and understanding. This needs to change and you can work toward that change by promoting and celebrating Intergeneration Month! Making connections between young and old can increase intergenerational understanding, decrease bidirectional ageism, and promote a healthy attitude toward one's own aging. Visit the
IGM website, if your state has not endorsed IGM please work to obtain the endorsement.
Some ILRCE members have created some very effective intergenerational activities by working with community partners such as K-12 schools, secondary schools, Senior Centers, Area Agencies on Aging, Senior Olympics, lifelong learning programs, places of worship, Boys and Girls Clubs, and recreational and environmental programs. The American Library Association endorses Intergeneration Month and this endorsement offers an opportunity to pursue library participation. The AGHE website lists children's literature supportive of positive intergenerational relations under "Publications", and AGHE presents a book award for Best Children's Literature on Aging.
Some of the Intergeneration Month activities may become more permanent aspects of community life. A relatively overlooked intergenerational project is the
Veteran's History Project (VHP). The VHP of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear their stories. Students in the 10th grade and above can participate in the project and there are special resources for educators and students. Opportunities for intergeneration activities are limitless. The founder of Intergeneration Month, Sandy Kraemer, believes every day presents opportunities to connect generations, but taking the initiative is the key. The best time to start planning is right now. Join your colleagues in ILRCE in using the opportunities provided by Intergeneration Month to invoke the power of connecting generations and moving them toward better mutual understanding. Get communities involved. Get yourself involved. Support the ILRCE Committee in promoting Intergeneration Month.
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Teaching & Learning Resources
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All Hands on Aging - Get Your Copy Now!
Director, RoseMary B. Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies
Professor of Psychology
Lasell College
Hot off the press and ready to order is
A Hands-on Approach to Teaching about Aging - 32 Activities for the Classroom and Beyond (2017, Springer Publishing), a one-of-a-kind compilation of active, engaging learning strategies for instructors who want to enrich aging content in their classes. Co-edited by AGHE members Hallie Baker (Muskingum University), Tina M. Kruger (Indiana State University), and Rona J. Karasik (St. Cloud State University), the book features classroom and community-based educational activities that incorporate AGHE competencies and can be used in courses across a range of disciplines - counseling, family studies, gerontology, geriatrics, medicine, psychology, public administration, public health, nursing, social work, sociology, speech pathology, and more. In addition to step-by-step details about each activity, the book includes beginning-to-end information about activity preparation, discussion/reflection, wrap-up, and assessment. Authors offer recommendations about the number of participants, settings, materials, and time required - the nitty gritty details often overlooked in other instructional books. Explore new topics or refresh old activities that deal with issues such as ageism and aging in the media, dementia, demography, health care, housing, physical aging, policy and politics of aging, positive interactions with older adults, and spirituality. If you want an activity specifically designed for use in the community, on-line, or at-home, you'll be sure to find one among the 30+ options that are featured. Tina Kruger recalls being "a new faculty member, just starting to teach aging courses, with limited ideas for good activities and even more limited time to search for good ideas" and hopes that this book will serve as a useful tool for others in a similar situation, as well as for those with more experience who are looking to polish their teaching practices.
In addition being a great resource for educators, the work demonstrates how opportunities and collaborations afforded by AGHE provide impactful experiences for its members. Hallie Baker recounts that "this project is the culmination of a dream I had beginning in my doctoral program when I started teaching Introduction to Gerontology. At that time, I started creating activities to engage the students in my courses and then discussing ideas with peers. I collected my activities and presented them at an AGHE resource exchange in the past. Based on feedback I received then I started seeking a forum to publish the activities. It was at the 2015 Annual AGHE Meeting in Nashville, TN when Rona, Tina and I got together and came up with the idea of an edited volume."
Baker further notes that "The ideas and submissions from the authors were amazing and the willingness of our reviewers to provide feedback helped make those submissions even better. I am also very excited that the profits are going to support AGHE. This organization has always been my favorite conference and the one which I tend to get the most out of. As a teaching professor from a small liberal arts university, the value I receive from attending the annual meeting is beyond words."
Rona Karasik concurs that, "Seeing this book go from "what if...?" to "it's here!" has been an energizing experience. I wish something like this collection had been available when I started teaching 25 years ago and I am excited to have these new ideas to try out in my courses now. I think it is something that everyone - from new educators to the most seasoned - will find valuable." On behalf of all of the co-editors, Karasik extends many thanks to the contributors, reviewers, proofreaders, and publishing reps - who collectively make the book possible.
When you have worked your way through this volume, do not be surprised if there is another one the way. As Tina Kruger put it: "There was a lot of talk at AGHE of a second edition with activities created especially for online learning environments, and I would love to see that come to fruition!"
This piece was contributed on behalf of the Academic Program Development Committee.
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What Works? Consultation Works!
Associate Professor, Psychological Science
Coordinator of Gerontology
Central Connecticut State University
Assistant Professor, Psychological Science
Co-Chair of Gerontology Minor
Central Connecticut State University
For over a decade, our interdisciplinary undergraduate gerontology minor had been thriving and growing despite limited resources, and our persistent requests for more. Thus, it came as a surprise, albeit a pleasant one, when our administration finally heeded our call to focus more attention on gerontology and expressed interest in expanding our program. While we were excited for the attention, we also had some concerns because our administration's vision of expansion did not exactly match our own. We also soon realized that their understanding of the field of gerontology was limited as we discussed a variety of new program possibilities. Although we did our best to educate, given our specific training and expertise in the fields of adult development and geropsychology, our identities as gerontologists as well as our understanding of the broader field of gerontology were still developing. Enter our need for an AGHE consultant.
Unsure of how best to proceed, we encouraged our (then) Dean to consider bringing in an outside consultant from AGHE. Armed with only the information we had read on the AGHE Consultation Program website, we told her that we thought a consultant wouldhelp to ensure that we developed the best and most appropriate program possible given our resources and the needs of our local workforce. We argued that an outside consultant could help us determine the best course of action and provide an objective assessment as well as some external validation before we moved any proposal forward. As members of AGHE, we had already made good use of the many resources that AGHE provides to help us grow and improve our minor, so we felt confident the consultation program would be beneficial.
Once our Dean decided to bring in a consultant, she handled it from there, contacting AGHE and making arrangements for a site visit (highly recommended). Somewhat out of the loop at this point, we felt a bit nervous about who AGHE would send, and what he or she might have to say. Prior to the consultant's visit, he was provided information about our university, our interdisciplinary undergraduate gerontology minor, our faculty who teach gerontology-focused courses, and some preliminary proposals for graduate programs in gerontology. The big day finally arrived when the consultant visited our campus. Our gerontology committee was scheduled time to meet with him, but there were also meetings with our administration and community members of which we were not a part.
Upon receiving the consultant's final written report, we were very pleased as it was a very informative document that continues to serve as a valuable resource for us to this day. The report did several things. First, it provided a brief history of certificate versus degree programs in gerontology, and where they stand today. It also included information about the advantages and disadvantages of each type of program, with a focus on the advantages and potential benefits of a certificate program, which seemed to be the best fit for our institution. Hearing this information from an external source was educational for the administration, and validating for the gerontology committee. Second, the report concretely outlined the resources necessary to develop and sustain a graduate certificate program. Again, this was very important to hear from an outside expert, and further validated our ongoing requests for resources. And finally, the report highlighted the strengths of our institution and faculty, and provided a clear pathway to move us forward in our program development.
There is no question that the consultant had a positive impact on both faculty and administration. As faculty, we felt empowered and more confident in our ideas and knowledge of the field. Only days after receiving the final report, the administration moved quickly to provide us with the resources outlined in the report, which allowed us to move forward in developing a new graduate certificate program in gerontology. Moreover, the report helped to strengthen confidence in the success of the program given all the effort to be invested by both faculty and the administration. We are proud to announce that we are now accepting applications for Fall 2017!
Based on our experience, we strongly urge you to take advantage of AGHE's Consultation Program. AGHE staff will work with you or your administration to find a consultant appropriate for your needs and institution. Even amidst the growing budget conscious culture occurring on campuses all over the country, we believe the investment is worth it.
What Works! is a column of AGHE's Academic Program Development Committee.
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Call for Nominations: Book Award for Best Children's Literature on Aging
Deadline: August 15
Ithaca College Gerontology Institute
Co-Chair, K-12 Gerontology Education Committee
AGHE's K-12 Gerontology Education Committee invites submissions for the 2018 Book Award for Best Children's Literature on Aging. This award is made every other year to recognize positive portrayals of older adults in children's literature.
The award is made in two categories: (a) Primary Reader (Pre K- 2) and (b) Elementary Reader (3rd-5th grade).
Books eligible for nomination must be published in 2016 or 2017. There will be one "Honoree" and one "Honorable Mention" in each category.
Please consider nominating books for this award - anyone may make a nomination! Email the title and author to Mary Ann Erickson, 2018 Book Award Subcommittee Chair,
merickson@ithaca.edu.
K-12 Korner is a regular column contributed by AGHE's K-12 Gerontology Education Committee.
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Do you have colleagues, administrators, or students who should know about AGHE & issues related to gerontological & geriatric education? Simply email your request to aghe@aghe.org.
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