Strategy 1

Support Faculty with an Aging Focus

The aim of the Hartford Faculty Scholars program is to train academic leaders to teach, mentor, conduct cutting-edge research, and prepare the next generation of social workers to serve older adults. The long-term goal is to create momentum within academic social work that will build and ultimately increase programmatic and institutional capacity to educate geriatric social work practitioners.

The Faculty Scholars program provides financial and career support for talented junior faculty members committed to academic careers in aging-related social work. Scholars, who are selected through a rigorous process, receive $50,000 per year for two years to support their proposed research project. The scholars then conduct a significant study that addresses issues in aging related to the physical, psychological, and social well-being of older adults and their caregivers.

(Above) Dr. Berkman (center), Director of the Hartford Faculty Scholars Program, with Hartford Faculty Scholars Nancy Giunta, MSW, PhD, (left) and Carmen L. Morano, PhD, (right) School of Social Work, Hunter College, New York.

Mentoring is an important aspect of this research leadership program and the scholars are paired with nationally recognized research mentors in geriatrics. The scholars also choose institutional sponsors from their own schools who serve as professional role models and help with academic and professional development. The Faculty Scholars program helps hone the research and teaching skills of the scholars through numerous educational and development institutes and workshops. For example, scholars work on their leadership skills and public policy acumen through the Social Work Faculty Policy Leadership Institute.

A Decade of Supporting Faculty Scholars in Geriatric Social Work

The Faculty Scholars program has been effective in raising the visibility of geriatric social work and building momentum and interest in geriatric teaching and research. “These outstanding scholars have leveraged their Hartford program support,” says Dr. Berkman, Director of the Faculty Scholars program. “They have brought in significant additional funding to support their ongoing research, and they have published and presented the findings from their important scholarship both nationally and internationally. This has enhanced the visibility and desirability of geriatric social work, drawing doctoral and master’s students into the field of aging.”

The networking among the Faculty Scholars, their national research mentors, and Hartford Doctoral Fellows (described below) has built strong cohorts of spokespeople for geriatric social work, thus helping to create a critical mass of social workers who will be empowered to move the profession forward.

(Above) Hartford Faculty Scholar Faith Hopp, PhD, (right) from Wayne State University, discussing her research with a staff member in the office of U.S. Senator Carl Levin, during the Faculty Scholars Policy Leadership Institute. (Above, right top) Cecelia Thomas, PhD, Social Work Faculty Scholar, University of North Texas, visiting the office of U.S. Representative Michael Burgess. (Above, right bottom) Faculty Scholars attend a session during the Policy Leadership Institute on communicating with members of Congress and their staff. Next: Prepare Doctoral Students to Focus on Aging ›