Gerontology Education Consultants

The following Gero-Ed Consultants will be available to answer questions related to infusing gerontology into courses or designing specialized gerontology coursework at the 2013 CSWE Annual Program Meeting on Friday, November 1 from 4:45 pm – 5:45 pm CDT at the Hilton Anatole, Milan room. If you are unable to attend this meeting, there are 25 gero curriculum experts with experience in faculty engagement, student recruitment, experiential learning, interdisciplinary education, teaching methods, specialized course development, and several other specialty areas—available for consultation year round.

Kristina Hash, Associate Professor 
West Virginia University

West Virginia University is located in very rural state with the second oldest population in the nation. It has a land-grant mission of making higher education accessible to citizens across the state. The Division of Social Work offers a full-time BSW and MSW program on its main campus. In addition to these programs, it delivers a part-time MSW program at five extended learning locations across the state. It provides the only MSW program in the state and has a focus on practice in small towns and rural areas. The Division is fortunate to have benefited from the following initiatives: BSW Experiential Learning (BEL), Curriculum Development Institute (CDI), and Hartford Partnership for Aging Education (HPPAE). We have also recently adopted a for-credit interdisciplinary gerontology certificate and are launching a gerontology practitioner’s certificate that is CEU-based. We are also partners in the West Virginia Geriatric Education Center.

Nancy Kelley-Gillespie, Associate Professor
University of Nebraska at Omaha

The Grace Abbott School of Social Work (GASSW) at the University of Nebraska at Omaha has a state-wide mission to reach both rural and urban communities. The GASSW offers a BSSW (one of only 6 in the state) and the only MSW program in the state. The GASSW is fortunate to have benefitted from the Curriculum Development Institute (CDI) and Hartford Partnership for Aging Education (HPPAE). Other curriculum development funding was secured through the Iowa West Foundation and in collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The GASSW works closely with the Department of Gerontology to assist interested students in simultaneously completing a Certificate in Gerontology. A 2009 Anita Rosen Best Practices in Gerontological Infusion Award recipient, we have had great success with infusing and sustaining gerontological content throughout all of our curricula and have substantially increased student and faculty interest in aging.
 
Penelope Moore, Associate Professor 
Iona College, New York State

With support from the Hartford Foundation, Council on Social Work Education, and Stanford University School of Medicine Geriatric Education Center, the Iona College Social Work Program is recognized for its gerontology-enriched curriculum, which prepares its graduates with a core of generalist skills to meet the psychosocial needs of America's diverse and rapidly aging population. The Social Work Department partners with other academic and human service organizations in Westchester County, New York to create opportunities for student exposure to careers in aging and to
serve as advocates for older Americans. 
 
Susan Tebb, Professor
Saint Louis University, Missouri

We developed an MSW certificate/specialization that follows the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) recommendations. Due to budget limitations, we have only one required gerontology course. The other course/content area requirements are met by using the other courses in the MSW program and having the students do the major requirement in those courses on older adult issues. The student creates a portfolio of the assignments, which is due at the end of the course work. Two semesters of practicum in an agency working with older adults is also required. A pre- and post-test of the competencies has been given over the four years we have offered this opportunity and data indicates that students develop competencies in working with older adults and believe that this is an area of social work they will work in. At the undergraduate level we have successfully infused gerontology content into most of the courses, the practice courses in particular, and see an increase in students asking to work with older adults.