As America's senior population grows, meeting to outline effective education about aging

The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) — the educational branch of The Gerontological Society of America — will hold its 37th Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference from March 17 to 20 at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Cincinnati, OH. Media representatives are invited to attend free of charge.

This conference provides a forum for professionals in the field of aging to present their work and share ideas about gerontological and geriatric education and training. The theme for 2011 is "Living the Old Age We Imagine: Higher Education in an Aging Society." Complete meeting details are available at www.aghe.org.

"Images of Aging: Lay and Scientific Perspectives"

Opening Plenary and Keynote Address: Thursday, March 17, 6:30 p.m.

Images of aging are critical to both lay persons and scientists, constraining or enabling actions that shape wellbeing across the life course. In this presentation, keynote speaker Kenneth Ferraro, PhD, will review widely-held images of aging — noting their social origins and consequences — and opportunities for gerontology educators to transform views of the aging process.

"A Roadmap for Accreditation in Gerontology/Geriatrics"

Past Presidents' Symposium: Saturday, March 19, 1:30 p.m.

Gerontology programs face serious, primarily structural, challenges for survival. As the public seeks quality in addressing the soaring aging demographics, the workforce demand for credentialed/skilled professionals in aging is not established or available. This session will explore how AGHE can respond to the need for accreditation. A town hall meeting also will be held on Sunday, March 20 at 9 a.m. to field questions from this presentation.

"Living an Old Age Imagined"

Closing Plenary and Presidential Address: Sunday, March 20, 10:30 a.m.

Set against the background of a new-age old- age, AGHE President Graham Rowles PhD, will consider the role of gerontology education in combating ageism, reducing gerontological illiteracy, and enabling all people to live an old age they have imagined. He will make the argument that by ignoring the admonition of Henry David Thoreau to "Live the life you have imagined," older adults themselves and society in general have fostered an old age that is for many, perhaps the majority, far less than it might be.

Provided by The Gerontological Society of America