The Gerontological Society of America Announces Hartford Fellowship Recipients

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 25 Mar 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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Four outstanding social work students have been chosen as the newest recipients of the prestigious Hartford Doctoral Fellowship, a program funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, administered by The Gerontological Society of America, and directed by Dr. James Lubben.

Robin Bonifas of the University of Washington School of Social Work, Mythu Chiem-Lu of the University of Washington School of Social Work, Rita Chou of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work, and Tara Nickle of the SUNY Albany School of Social Welfare will each receive a $50,000 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 the next two years.

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.

Nickle will be writing her dissertation on the "Systematic Review and Meta Analysis of Interventions Relevant to Quality of Life for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia." Chou will be addressing "Institutional and Social Support at Work and Job Satisfaction of Direct Care Workers in Assisted Living." Chiem-Lu's dissertation is titled "Immigration, Aging and Life Satisfaction Among Older Vietnamese Refugees: A resilience perspective." And Bonifas is tackling "Factors Associated with Effective Psychosocial Care in Washington State Skilled Nursing Facilities."

Lubben, the Louise McMahon Ahearn University Chair at Boston College, directs the program with input from the National Program Committee of Leaders in Doctoral Education for Social Work and Gerontology. GSA provides overall administration and fiscal management.

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), founded in 1945, is the oldest and largest national multidisciplinary scientific organization devoted to the advancement of gerontological research. Its membership includes some 5,000+ researchers, educators, practitioners, and other professionals in the field of aging. The Society's principal missions are to promote research and education in aging and to encourage the dissemination of research results to other scientists, decision makers, and practitioners.

Contact: Todd Kluss
tkluss@geron.org
202-842-1275
The Gerontological Society of America
http://www.geron.org

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