News Release

Dooley and Gardner named Hartford Doctoral Fellows in geriatric social work

Grant and Award Announcement

The Gerontological Society of America

The John A. Hartford Foundation of New York City and The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) have selected two outstanding social work doctoral students for the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program. The two new Doctoral Fellows are Dennis Dooley at SUNY-Albany and Daniel Gardner at Columbia University. Both Dooley and Gardner will receive a $40,000 dissertation grant plus $20,000 in matching support from their home institutions that will enable them to more fully concentrate on their dissertation research projects over next two-years. Dooley's dissertation examines family perspectives towards pallative care teams for nursing home residents with advanced dementia. Gardner is studying relationships and support among older adult couples living with advanced cancer.

In addition to the dissertation research grants, the Hartford Doctoral Fellows program will provide academic career development and leadership training for these promising doctoral students. Hartford Doctoral Fellows attend the annual meetings of GSA and the Council of Social Work Education where special pre-conference institutes are offered. The Hartford Doctoral Fellows program is designed to cultivate the next generation of geriatric social work faculty who will become teachers, role models, and mentors for future generations of social workers caring for older persons and their families.

It is estimated that there are over 600,000 practicing social workers in the United States. While most social workers report that geriatric knowledge is needed in their professional work, less than 5% of all masters level students in social work, and approximately 7% of doctoral level students specialize in aging. The Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program is a $2.45 million dollar program to ensure that the country will have the necessary pool of trained and skilled geriatric social workers by recruiting, sustaining, and training a cadre of talented doctoral students who will become tomorrow's social work faculty.

The GSA administers the Hartford Doctoral Fellows program. James Lubben, Professor of Social Welfare and Urban Planning in the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research is Principal Investigator and National Director. Doctoral Fellows were selected by a National Program Committee comprised of Dr. Catherine Alter, University of Denver; Dr. Denise Burnette, Columbia University; Dr. Namkee Choi, Portland State University; Dr. Ruth Dunkle, University of Michigan; Dr. Nancy Hooyman, University of Washington; Dr. Nancy Kropf, University of Georgia; and Dr. Nancy Morrow-Howell, Washington University in St. Louis.

###

The John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc., of New York City is a private philanthropy established in 1929 by John A. Hartford, who was a chief executive of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company. The Doctoral Fellows program is one of five programs funded under the Hartford Strengthening Geriatric Social Work Initiative, which collaborates with social work education programs to prepare needed, aging-savvy social workers and improve the care and well-being of older adults and their families. The objectives of the Geriatric Social Work Initiative are to:

  • Cultivate faculty leaders in gerontological education and research through the Doctoral Fellows Program and the Faculty Scholars Program, which supports the career development and research of talented faculty;
  • Develop excellent training opportunities in real-world settings through the Practicum Partnership Program, which is developing and testing innovative, aging-rich field experiences for graduate students that connect communities and schools of social work; and
  • Create new gerontological curricula and other teaching tools through the "Faculty and Curriculum Development" Program, which is strengthening social work faculty's ability to develop, integrate and teach aging content in new and existing courses; and the "Curriculum Transformation" Program?, which is expanding the number and quality of courses and learning experiences focused on aging at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The Gerontological Society of America, the national organization of professionals in the field of aging, is dedicated to the promotion of the scientific study of aging, to encourage exchanges among researchers and practitioners and to foster the use of gerontological research in forming public policy.

For ongoing information about the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program and the other Hartford funded programs under this initiative, see the GSA web page at http://www.geron.org (click on social work under the tab "Programs"). The deadline for the next selection cycle of Hartford Doctoral Fellows is February 1, 2003.


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.