Galloway, N.J. –  Stockton faculty made quite the showing at the Gerontological Society of America's Annual Scientific Meeting (GSA) Nov. 13-16 in Seattle, Washington, where they presented symposium papers and posters on various topics and were among distinguished honorees. The international conference hosted over 4,500 practitioners, scholars, administrators, policymakers, and educators in gerontology from over 40 countries, with this year's theme being "The Fortitude Factor." 

Stockton Professor Emeritus of Psychology and founding director of the Stockton Center on Successful Aging (SCOSA) David Burdick received the Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Honor from the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), along with outgoing GSA president Judy Howe, and this year’s Clark Tibbitts Award recipient Joann Montepare. Burdick received the Tibbitts Award in 2019.

Burdick reflected on the recognition. "It was an honor to be selected for this recognition along with Judy and Joann as we retire from our primary academic jobs.  We all plan to continue our scholarship and service in various ways,” he shared. "AGHE and GSA have been my professional home for nearly 40 years.”

Burdick and Christine Ferri, director of SCOSA and associate professor of Psychology, co-authored a presentation, "Building Resilience and Grit in Higher Education's Own Climate Crisis." Speaking to a room of faculty, staff and administrators involved in running centers and programs on aging, Ferri emphasized the importance of a robust center on aging as a hub for community outreach and research: "What we do is in everybody's lives."

Ferri said they received valuable feedback and excellent questions from scholars around the world regarding the presentation. "We will surely incorporate these ideas into our manuscript on this research project," she said. 

Duo (Helen) Wei, professor of Computer Science and faculty associate in SCOSA, was the lead author of two presentations at GSA. She delivered a talk, "Intergenerational Workshop to Empower Older Adults in Smart Technologies," at the symposium on Intergenerational Service: Extending Age Inclusivity in and Beyond the Classroom. Wei shared her Medical Informatics class's Intergenerational Service-learning Projects with South Jersey Older Adult Communities.

"Serving groups in AtlantiCare, Center for Family Services, Hammonton Canoe Club, and more, this collaborative effort nurtures stronger bonds between communities and the university," Wei noted. The presentation was co-authored by Burdick and Stockton alum Joseph Morales. Wei's poster, "Exploring the Landscape of Generative AI and Large Language Models in Alzheimer and Dementias Research," was co-authored with Burdick and Stockton students Riya Goyal and Jeannine Elmasri and Bianca Hernandez of NJIT.

"Attending the GSA conference has been incredibly inspiring—it's connected me with fresh ideas and collaborations in gerontology, sparking new ways to integrate Computer and AI technology into aging research. I'm excited to bring these insights back to Stockton to enhance student learning and drive meaningful change in our community," Wei, who also presented at last year's GSA conference, noted.

Kaite Yang, associate professor of Psychology and coordinator of the Childhood Studies Minor, co-authored a poster presentation with Ferri and Princeton University Professor Emeritus Joan Girgus, "Changes in Depressive Symptoms Across Middle and Older Adulthood in the ORANJ BOWL Longitudinal Study of Aging." Their research examined the well-known gender disparity in depression using advanced longitudinal modeling methods to track changes in symptoms over 13 years.

"Attending and presenting at GSA was invigorating. Our scholarly work benefits from the connections we make, the feedback we receive from experts, and participating in current conversations in our academic fields at conferences like this," concluded Yang.

From left to right: Carrie Andreoletti, Central Connecticut State University; Joann M. Montepare, Lasell University; Allyson Brothers, Colorado State University; Duo (Helen) Wei, Stockton University; Monica S. Franzone, Connecticut College; and Katherine Kwong, Connecticut College.

Reported by Mandee McCullough

Photos submitted