The eight Hartford Fellows will administer dissertation projects that look at an array of issues in the geriatric social work field:
As Hartford Doctoral Fellows, they receive a dissertation grant of up to $50,000 over two years plus $20,000 in matching support from their home institutions. In addition, the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program provides academic career development and leadership training for these promising doctoral students. The Fellows attend the annual meetings of GSA, the Council of Social Work Education, and the Society for Social Work and Research, where special pre-conference institutes are offered.
It is estimated that there are over 600,000 practicing social workers in the United States. While most social workers report that geriatric knowledge is needed in their professional work, less than 5% of all masters level students in social work, and approximately 7% of doctoral level students specialize in aging. The Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program is a $2.45 million dollar program designed to cultivate the next generation of geriatric social work faculty who will become teachers, role models, and mentors for future generations of social workers caring for older persons and their families.
The Gerontological Society of America administers the Hartford Doctoral Fellows program. Dr. James Lubben, the Louise McMahon Ahearn University Chair at Boston College is Principal Investigator and National Director. The Doctoral Fellows were selected by a National Program Committee comprised of Dr. A.E. Benjamin, UCLA; Dr. Barbara Berkman, Director of the Hartford Faculty Scholars Program; Dr. Denise Burnette, Columbia University; Dr. Namkee Choi, University of Texas at Austin; Dr. Ruth Dunkle, University of Michigan; Dr. Jan Greenberg, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Dr. Nancy Morrow-Howell, Washington University in St. Louis.
The Gerontological Society of America was founded in 1945 and, with 5,500 members, is the largest research organization in aging and a leader in the advancement of knowledge, generation of new ideas and translation of research findings into practice. The Society publishes the field's leading multidisciplinary scientific journals. The National Academy on an Aging Society serves as the Society's policy institute and forum on aging issues. The Association for Gerontology in Higher Education is a special unit within the Society that focuses on education and training issues. More information about GSA is available at http://www.geron.org/ .
Founded in 1929, the John A. Hartford Foundation is a committed champion of training, research and service system innovations that promote the health and independence of America's older adults. Through its grant making, the Foundation seeks to strengthen the nation's capacity to provide effective, affordable care to this rapidly increasing older population by education "aging-prepared" health professionals (physicians, nurses, social workers), and developing innovations that improve and better integrate health and supportive services. John A. Hartford established the Foundation. Mr. Hartford and his brother, George L. Hartford, both former chief executives of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, left the bulk of their estates to the Foundation upon their deaths in the 1950s. Additional information about the Foundation and its programs is available at http://www.jhartfound.org .
The Doctoral Fellows program is one of four programs funded under the Hartford Strengthening Geriatric Social Work Initiative, which collaborates with social work education programs to prepare needed, aging-savvy social workers and improve the care and well-being of older adults and their families. For ongoing information about the Hartford Doctoral Fellows Program and the other Hartford funded programs under this initiative, see the GSA web page at http://www.geron.org (click on social work under the tab "Programs"). The deadline for the next selection cycle of Hartford Doctoral Fellows is February 1, 2005.