Five outstanding doctoral students have been chosen as the newest recipients of the prestigious Hartford Doctoral Fellowship in geriatric social work. The program is funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, administered by The Gerontological Society of America, and directed by James Lubben, DSW, MPH.
Each of the Hartford Doctoral Fellows receives a $50,000 dissertation grant plus $20,000 in matching support from their home institutions, which enables recipients to more fully concentrate on their dissertation research projects over the next two years. Fellows also receive supplemental academic career guidance and mentoring, as well as professional development enabling them to more successfully launch an academic career in gerontology and social work.
Kristie G. Kimbell
University of Texas-Austin
School of Social Work
Dissertation Topic: "Understanding Long-Term Care Planning Behavior of Baby Boom Aged Adults: Identifying the Influence of Location of Responsibility and Other Factors"
Amanda J. Lehning
University of California-Berkeley
School of Social Welfare
Dissertation Topic: "Local Government Innovation Creating Aging-Friendly Communities: A Mixed Methods Triangulated Approach"
SoonHee Roh
New York University
Silver School of Social Work
Dissertation Topic: "The Impact of Religion, Spirituality, and Social Support on Depression and Life Satisfaction Among Korean Immigrant Older Adults"
Jeannine M. Rowe
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Helen Bader School of Social Welfare
Dissertation Topic: "The Contribution of specialized Skill Sets to Effective Implementation of a Manualized Care Management Process for Serving Family Caregivers"
Karen A. Zurlo
University of Pennsylvania
School of Social Policy & Practice
Dissertation Topic: "The Mediating Effects of Control Beliefs and the Financial Well-Being of Older Adults"
This fellowship program is a component of the nationwide Geriatric Social Work Initiative, which seeks to expand the training of social workers in order to improve the health and well being of older persons and their families. It was created to help social work doctoral students overcome their greatest obstacles, such as limited teacher training and career guidance. These fellowships cultivate the next generation of geriatric social work faculty as teachers, role models and mentors for future generations of geriatric social workers.
Lubben, the Louise McMahon Ahearn University Chair at Boston College and a professor emeritus at UCLA, works together with a national program committee to select the Fellows. This year's committee consists of Iris Chi, DSW, of the University of Southern California; Namkee Choi, PhD, of the University of Texas at Austin; Ruth Dunkle, PhD, of the University of Michigan; Grover Gilmore, PhD, of Case Western University; Jan Greenberg, PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Nancy Morrow-Howell, PhD, of Washington University in St. Louis; Holly Nelson-Becker, PhD, of the University of Kansas; and Deborah Waldrop, PhD, of the State University of New York at Buffalo. Ad hoc members include Barbara Berkman, DSW, PhD, of Columbia University and the Hartford Faculty Scholars Program, and Carmen Morano, PhD, of Hunter College and the Hartford Pre-Dissertation Award Program.
The Gerontological Society of America is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,000+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA's structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and an educational branch, the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education.