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Symposium

Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education

Policy Series: Doctoral Programs in Gerontology: Providing Leadership in Policy and Aging

Saturday, November 11, 2023
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET
Location: Room 109

Advancements in education, medicine, wealth, technology, and population health have increased individual life expectancies. Healthy aging is not just a function of healthy genes, however; aging is modified by the broader context, which, in turn, creates opportunities and challenges that must be addressed by society. Lack of organized responses to population aging exacerbate social inequities based on workplace discrimination, displacement, and impoverishment, and contribute to public health inequalities pertaining to disease and disability, isolation, and vulnerability among older adults. Public policy offers one of the most effective ways to address inequities and inequalities such as these. This symposium spotlights four doctoral programs that prepare gerontologists who possess subject matter expertise in aging policy, conduct reliable policy surveillance and sourcing, execute empirical evaluations of policy formation and implementation, and offer well-informed contributions to policy makers who are most involved with supporting and protecting older adults. These well-established academic programs at the University of Massachusetts Boston (Edward Alan Miller, PhD), University of South Florida (Lyndsay Peterson, PhD), University of Southern California (Kathleen Wilbur, PhD), and Miami University (Jennifer M. Kinney, PhD) offer classroom education, research, and service-learning opportunities for students to acquire expertise in aging and public policy. Together, these programs provide models for training a generation of leaders in gerontology who can contribute productively to policy development and debates, illuminate structures and processes of policy making and implementation, and deploy analytic skills needed to evaluate policies relative to multiple and often competing interests.

Learning Objectives:

  • After attending this session, participants will be able to describe the importance of public policy training to gerontological education.
  • After attending this session, participants will be able to identify how well-established doctoral programs in gerontology integrate public policy into their curricula.
  • After attending this session, participants will be able to describe the career opportunities available to gerontology PhD program graduates with policy-relevant expertise.

Presentations:

  • 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET
    At the Nexus of Public Policy and Aging: Doctoral Studies in Gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Edward A. Miller, PhD, MPA, FGSA (he/him/his) – University of Massachusetts Boston

  • 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET
    Three Decades of Research Guiding Policy and Policy Guiding Research in Aging at the University of South Florida

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Lindsay J. Peterson, PhD – University of South Florida

  • 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET
    Lessons From Four Decades in Aging Policy at the University of Southern California: What a Long Fine Trip It's Been

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Kathleen H. Wilber, PhD, FGSA, FAGHE – University of South California

  • 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET
    It Works for Us: Bridging the Gap Between Education, Practice, and Policy in Gerontology at Miami University

    Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Jennifer M. Kinney, PhD (she/her/hers) – Miami University