Civic Engagement in an Older America

E-Newsletter

November, 2004

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the E-Newsletter for the Civic Engagement in an Older America Project! This project is a 5-year initiative funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and administered by GSA to promote the study of civic engagement by experts in the field of aging. The goal of the project is to produce and promote research that will contribute to the development of more effective social institutions, programs, and policies that will increase civic participation by older adults. Click here to learn more.

We welcome your feedback and encourage you to contribute resources, news and other content to subsequent issues of the newsletter. Send materials to Christina Leone at cleone@geron.org. If you have been forwarded this E-Newsletter by a colleague and would like to subscribe, please reply to this email and type "Subscribe" in the subject line.

Expert Work Group Selected to Guide Initiative
Phyllis Moen, McKnight Presidential Chair in Sociology at the University of Minnesota, and author of It's About Time: Couples and Careers, accepted our invitation to chair the Expert Work Group assigned to this project. The other members include:

Scott Bass, Distinguished Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Department of Public Policy, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Research & Planning, University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Laura C. Carstensen, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University.

Marc Freedman, Founder and President of Civic Ventures, San Francisco.

William Galston, Saul Stern Professor of Civic Engagement, Director, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland School of Public Policy.

Rick Moody, Director of Academic Affairs, AARP, Washington, DC.

Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work, Washington University of St. Louis.

Joe Quinn, Professor of Economics and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College.

Program Assistant Hired in September
Christina Leone was hired in September as Program Assistant for this project. Christina previously worked as Program Assistant for the Hartford Foundation Doctoral Fellows and Faculty Scholars programs. In that role, she was responsible for the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative web site (www.gswi.org), including production of the e-newsletter and maintenance of the subscriber database.

Civic Engagement Highlighted at 2004 GSA Annual Meeting
The 2004 GSA Annual Meeting will take place November 19-23rd in Washington, DC at the Marriott Wardman Park and Omni Shoreham Hotels. The theme of this year's meeting is Promoting the Health of an Aging Population.

'Civic Engagement in Later Life,' a special symposium featuring experts from GSA's new Civic Engagement in an Older America initiative, will be held on Sunday, November 21, 10:30am-12pm in the Marriott, Room Delaware A. Speakers include William Galston, Phyllis Moen, Greg O'Neill, Joe Quinn, and Nancy Morrow-Howell. The symposium will be moderated by Rick Moody. The panel will focus on questions gerontologists need to think about with regard to civic engagement in later life. We invite you to come and have a voice in this interactive session.

In addition, there are a number of papers and posters being presented that relate to civic engagement among older adults. Click here to access a list of these abstracts, including the date and time that the presentations will take place.

Civic Engagement Paper Awards Coming in 2005
Check the 2005 GSA Annual Meeting Call for Papers for information about new paper awards in the area of civic engagement. The GSA Call for Papers will be available in early January.

Project Director Provides Input to WHCoA
Dr. Greg O'Neill, Project Director and Director of the Academy, recently made a statement before the Policy Committee of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging in connection with the Civic Engagement in an Older America project. Click here for more information about the 2005 WHCoA and to view the statement.

Forums and Focus Groups
GSA will conduct a series of forums and focus groups on civic engagement in Boston, Orlando, St. Louis, and San Francisco in February, 2005. These forums and focus groups have been designated as official White House Conference on Aging event. Keep watching this web site for further information about specific dates and locations.

Resources
Click here for a list of other major initiatives and reports in the are of civic engagement.

If you would like to subscribe to this e-newsletter, please email Greg O'Neill at goneill@agingsociety.org and type "Subscribe" in the subject line.

The Civic Engagement in an Older America project is supported by a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies.

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