Contact Information

Program Director:
J. Brandon Wallace

Office:
PH 330

Phone:
615-898-5976

Email: aging@mtsu.edu

The Aging Studies Program at Middle Tennessee State University is an interdisciplinary program of research and education focusing on aging and the elderly.  Faculty from nursing, nutrition, speech, physical education, social work, psychology, and sociology conduct research and teach courses that provide students and aging professionals with the knowledge and expertise necessary to address the challenges posed by an aging population.  The Aging Studies Program serves the university and community through both educational and service programs, often combining the two through service-learning and practicum opportunities made possible by extensive collaborations and partnerships with community agencies and organizations.  The program seeks to assist Aging Studies faculty achieve excellence in teaching, research, and scholarly activities by supporting research, faculty development, and encouraging participation in professional conferences.  The program achieves its educational goals by offering an undergraduate Minor in Gerontology and a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology and advocating the integration of aging issues across the curriculum.

Program History

• Under Construction

Goals for 2009-2010 and Beyond

1. Increase the number of minors and graduate certificate students by increasing knowledge and awareness of the Aging Studies Program.
   1. Continue regular updates of web page.  Add info on program history, recent program accomplishments, current program goals, as well as links to program reports, aging data sources, and faculty web pages.
   2. Distribute copies of the Gerontology Minor brochure at CUSTOMS.
   3. Disseminate an Aging Studies newsletter.
   4. Have article about Aging Studies Program published in Record and/or Sidelines.
   5. Encourage Aging Studies faculty and other advisers to make undergraduate students aware of the Aging Studies minor during advising.
2. Increase communication with and contact between Aging Studies faculty and students.
   1. Continue to meet with Aging Studies faculty at least once each semester and communicate regularly using Aging Studies email list.
   2. Mount a bulletin board outside Aging Studies office for announcements and program information.
3. Encourage and support Aging Studies faculty in their research and scholarship.
   1. Provide travel support for Aging Studies faculty wishing to present their scholarship at professional conferences.
   2. Provide regular updates to all Aging Studies faculty about the scholarship of their Aging Studies colleagues.
   3. Provide clerical support for the development of grants, proposals, and research reports.
   4. Encourage Aging Studies faculty to continue to submit book order requests to the library for aging related materials through departmental budgets.  Submit book orders directly from the program for important resources.  Consider moving materials now held in Aging Studies office to the library to make them more accessible.
4. Maintain active involvement in the community through service and education.
   1. Continue support and involvement in the Dynamics of Elderly Caregiving conference.
   2. Increase the number of students in service learning and practicum placements and increase the number of organizations hosting such placements.
   3. Continue to encourage and expand experiential community-based learning opportunities in all courses.
   4. Consider the possibility of developing new continuing education and or distance learning courses, possibly as summer courses.
   5. Continue to provide the community with information about aging by publicizing Aging Studies as a source of information on aging and producing a report on the State of Aging in Tennessee.
5. Stay informed as to trends and directions in gerontological education.
   1. Maintain membership in the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.
   2. Send at least one Aging Studies faculty member to the AGHE annual meeting.
   3. Send at least one faculty to an additional conference pertaining to gerontological education, policy, or programs.
6. Explore the possibility of expanding course offerings in Aging Studies.
   1. Use topics in gerontology course to introduce new courses.  Request money to pay adjuncts to departments whose faculty teach a topics course for aging studies.  Some possible topics include the biology of aging, the economics of aging, aging and the law, grand-parenting, minority aging, global aging, and women and aging.  Specifically, contact faculty in biology, business, global studies, and political science to explore their interest in developing a course on aging in their respective disciplines.
   2. Consider working with African-American Studies to develop a topics course on minority aging.
   3. Develop and teach GERO 2600 Introduction to Gerontology as an online course, possibly in summer.
7. Work toward the creation of the Tennessee Center for the Study of Aging.
   1. Review materials regarding existing aging programs and centers in the area.  Report results to Vice Provost.
   2. Begin planning a statewide conference on Aging in Tennessee during which interest and support for the Center could be encouraged and assessed.
   3. Consider applying to TBR to create center, assuming the university could commit minimal resources (office space, basic office equipment, etc. to the project).
   4. Continue to seek funding and support from MTSU, the state, the federal government, and corporate entities such as NHC.
8. Continue to seek out and publicize scholarships for students in aging.
9. Consider expanding graduate program by either creating a concentration within the existing MS in Professional Science or a collaborative MS in Gerontology with other universities.