Improving the Aging Experience for All
UMass Boston Gerontology 2021-2022 Impact Report

Above: Older adults and their parents who were interviewed for UMB Professor Kathrin Boerner's Boston Aging Together Study.

Photos by Gretjen Helene

Adapting and responding to challenging times

In the fall of 2021, the University named Jan Mutchler and Edward Alan Miller as director of the Gerontology Institute and chair of the Department of Gerontology, respectively. Here they share their perspectives on 2021-2022.

Jan Mutchler

Director, Gerontology Institute

The Gerontology Institute serves as an expert resource to the Commonwealth and to stakeholders across the nation, contributing far beyond what its founders initially imagined.

UMASS BOSTON GERONTOLOGY

2021-2022 BY THE NUMBERS

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Voices of Impact

Click the video links to watch six stakeholders—partners, board members, and a doctoral student—share their perspectives on the value of UMass Boston Gerontology's work.

Elizabeth Chen
Alumna, Aging Policy Leader

Secretary
Mass. Executive Office of Elder Affairs

Kim Brooks
Nonprofit Partner

Chief Operating Officer
Hebrew Senior Life

John Cheney
Lifelong Learner

Board Member
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Nidya Velasco Roldán
Doctoral Student, Researcher

Doctoral Student, Research Assistant

UMB Department of Gerontology

Sandra Harris
Age-Friendly State Partner

President

Massachusetts AARP

Neil Downing
Pension Recovery Champion

Tax Consultant and
Former PAC Board Member

Our Year in Highlights

We offer a small sampling of our activities over the past year—learn more by clicking the links. Find more news and features on the Gerontology Institute blog.

Aging Equity & Disparity

Created Frank Caro Scholarship for Justice in Aging for doctoral students focused on under-represented communities
Hosted Reframing Aging workshop for faculty, staff, and students
Created annual Equity in Aging Research Fellowship in partnership with NCOA
PAC hosted panel on retirement equity

Age Friendly Communities

Education & Mentoring

Financial Security

Long-Term Supports
& Services

Published report, Person-Centered Care: Why Taking Individuals' Care Preferences Into Account Matters, with Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation
Published report, Building a National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, also with CCEHI
Served as members of Convergence Dialogue on Reimagining Care for Older Adults to develop consensus document

Social Determinants
of Health

Faculty built continuing expertise in this area, publishing studies on:
- impact of aging and relationships on mental health (one example)
- how aging and relationships impact cognition (one example)
- how aging and loneliness impact health (one example)
LTSS Center published report, The Impact of Climate Change: Why Older Adults Are Vulnerable

Heidi Whear, director of the Swampscott, MA, Senior Center, helps deliver grab-n-go lunches in 2021. The CSDRA at UMass Boston conducted a survey, focus groups, interviews, and more to help Swampscott assess the needs and interests of its older population. Photo: David Sokol/wickedlocal.com

Responding to COVID-19

The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the social, financial, and health crises often experienced by older Americans. The crises also helped to spotlight the critical work of UMass Boston gerontologists.

Our pandemic responses include:

publishing a second double issue of the Journal of Aging and Social Policy, then collecting those articles in a book, The COVID-19 Pandemic and Older Adults
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute continuing to adapt to member preferences with hybrid online and in-person classes offerings
doctoral program pivoting back to in-person by spring 2022
CSDRA conducting a series of surveys and producing reports on how senior centers are responding to the pandemic
CSDRA Director Caitlin Coyle, PhD ’14, helping to create the Massachusetts Task Force to End Loneliness and Build Community

Our Partners

Thanks to these organizations for their support of UMass Boston Gerontology:

AARP

AARP Foundation

Anne Tumlinson Innovations, LLC

Bacon Trust

Borchard Foundation

City of Boston

Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing

Community Catalyst, Inc.

Dignity Alliance

Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley

Grantmakers In Aging, Inc.

Hebrew Senior Life

Henry & Marilyn Taub Foundation

Jewish Healthcare Foundation Pittsburgh

LeadingAge

Massachusetts Councils on Aging

Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs

Montachusett Regional Transit Authority

National Council on Aging

National Institutes of Health

New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Planning Office for Urban Affairs Inc.

Point32Health Foundation

Research Triangle Institute

Rutgers University

RRF Foundation for Aging

The SCAN Foundation

The Silver Century Foundation

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

University of Massachusetts Medical School

Our Alumni: Global Leaders

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Improving the Aging Experience for All
UMass Boston Gerontology 2021-2022 Impact Report

Adapting and responding to challenging times

UMASS BOSTON GERONTOLOGY

2021-2022 BY THE NUMBERS

Voices of Impact