Jan Mutchler to Retire as Director of the Gerontology Institute

During a tenure that saw record-breaking fundraising and strengthened connections, Mutchler created significant impact for the Institute.

On January 25, 2025, Jan Mutchler will retire as the director of the Gerontology Institute and as professor of gerontology at University of Massachusetts Boston. Mutchler’s four years as director have created great impact on the Gerontology Institute, with a tenure that saw record-breaking fundraising and strengthened connections, which progressed research and influenced policy, while preparing students to advance the field in the years to come.

For Mutchler, those relationships began long before she became Gerontology Institute director in 2021. She accepted a joint appointment at UMass Boston in 1999 with the Institute and the Gerontology Department. Since then, Mutchler has taken on roles that have given her insight and experiences throughout the Institute and Department. In 2008, she became the department chair, a role that she held for the following three years, as well as the graduate program director, where she served for the next five. In 2012, Mutchler established the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging, a center within the Gerontology Institute that conducts applied research and advocates for aging well in the community. When she took on the role of director of the Gerontology Institute in 2021, these experiences merged into a single mission.

“I am a big believer in what centers and institutes can accomplish, and how they can enhance the academic mission, as well as other important elements of our university’s life,” Mutchler says. “I was excited about the opportunity to help the centers within the Gerontology Institute maximize those opportunities and contributions and strengthen the capacity of researchers affiliated with the Institute to continue producing impactful research.”

Mutchler’s presence at the Institute has been a transformational one.

“Jan is a terrific colleague and has a unique ability to get everyone on the same page and bring people together in positive and constructive ways,” says Marc Cohen, co-director of The LeadingAge LTSS Center @ UMass Boston, a center within the Gerontology Institute. “She has shepherded the Gerontology Institute through tumultuous times at the University and her ‘north star’ has always been the desire to do right by students, faculty, and staff. She has certainly succeeded, and we are all grateful for and have benefitted from her support, wise counsel, and guidance.”

Research with an Impact

UMass Boston’s Gerontology Department and Institute became fertile ground for Mutchler’s interests and research. Before her arrival, she’d had faculty appointments in sociology departments, even as her research focused on aging.

“Coming here, where every single student is interested in aging and older populations, has been just great,” Mutchler says.

Mutchler’s research has focused on diverse populations and disparities in the aging experience, including intergenerational family relationships, living arrangements, health outcomes, and financial security. For the last 17 years, she’s also managed and produced the Elder Index, a tool developed within the Gerontology Institute that measures income needs for older adults. The Elder Index provides powerful data that educates policymakers and scholars, and it’s been used by advocates as a tool to change policies and increase advocacy for older adults.

Beyond her work on campus, Mutchler’s work with the community left a lasting change on her, as well as the Institute. She widened the scope of her work to include community stakeholders—residents, nonprofits, and municipal and state employees—to learn their needs and how they address the key issues that affect aging populations.

“This was a turning point in my own education,” she says. “I learned so much from the people working closely with older adults and seeking to make their communities and organizations better.”

Ushering in a New Chapter

Mutchler assumed the role of director of the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston during a time of transition. UMass Boston had a recently installed chancellor, a new provost, the department had a new chair and a recently appointed interim dean at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies, where the department was housed until its transition to the Manning College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 2023.

“As director, she brought substantial experience as an educator, scholar, and administrator to navigate these changes with aplomb and to bolster the Institute’s visibility on campus and in the community,” says Edward Alan Miller, Ph.D., chair of the Gerontology Department at UMass Boston. “Jan is widely respected and levelheaded; she selflessly devoted her time and effort to building the capacity of the Institute to better serve faculty and fellows, to create service learning and funding opportunities for students, and to support the Institute’s four centers.”

Because the Institute receives only a modest amount of state support, it relies on external funding for its work. Under Mutchler’s leadership, the Institute and its fellows have generated record-breaking fundraising. This funding has allowed faculty and staff to address timely and interesting questions that advance the understanding of the needs of aging adults and influence policy and practice. It has allowed students to receive training through paid positions, supporting externally funded projects. It has merged the strengths of the Institute with those of community stakeholders, together becoming greater than the sum of their parts.

“Our success reflects the enthusiasm of community and organizational partners in working with us. Many of our projects could not be successful without the involvement of stakeholder populations and organizations,” Mutchler says. “We have developed amazing collaborations over the years that inform our work and add to our fundraising success.”

Continuing a Legacy

Mutchler’s relationships with the previous Gerontology Institute directors have influenced her work. Each director brought unique strengths to the role, making their own mark and bringing contributions to the Institute. Of particular influence, Frank Caro, the Institute’s director when Mutchler came to UMass Boston, inspired her with his engagements with community partners, his mentorship of doctoral students, and his promotion of the academic programs. Ellen Bruce began the long-standing program of work on the Elder Index, continued by Mutchler, and offered support for building the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging. In addition, her predecessor, Len Fishman, became a role model for Mutchler in his elevation of the centers’ work and his commitment to the public impact of the Institute’s research. Mutchler has continued this momentum during her time as director—a momentum that will guide the Institute into its next chapter as well.

“I am very proud of the Institute’s growing impact along the core dimensions of university life alongside the other aspects of our work: developing and carrying out research, building partnerships that serve the public good, and participating in student training,” Mutchler says. “I wish for continued success along those dimensions and especially look forward to see continued integration of gerontology’s work across projects, centers, and departments.”

Upon retirement, Mutchler will receive emerita status and will continue her research at the Gerontology Department at UMass Boston in a part-time role. She is looking forward to continuing her work on the Elder Index, financial security in later life, and other issues that impact the well-being of older adults and their families.