October 18, 2017
by McCormack Speaks
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McCormack Graduate School Public Affairs alumna Mary Grant, PhD, has been appointed to lead the Edward M. Kennedy (EMK) Institute for the United States Senate.Grant will take the helm in January 2018 after leaving her current post as chancellor of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Asheville. She previously served as president of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the Berkshires.
October 16, 2017
by McCormack Speaks
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Professor Marc Cohen has spent many years following the market for long-term care insurance – from its days of broad-based popularity to its current appeal among primarily affluent policyholders. Cohen recently talked about that market and ideas about how insurance coverage could change in the future. The following is an edited version of his comments.
Why should people care about long-term care insurance, especially if the potential risk may be many years away?
That’s a real challenge. A lot of people misunderstand LTSS and most believe incorrectly the government pays for care, or they don’t understand government pays for care only after people impoverish themselves. For most, the risk is 30 to 40 years in the future and about half will not develop significant long-term care needs. But the risk is highly unpredictable for an individual. You don’t know if you’re going to be struck with Parkinson’s or dementia. Most people also underestimate the cost of home care or nursing homes.
October 16, 2017
by McCormack Speaks
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By Meghan Hendricksen, Gerontology Institute
The early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or other cognitive impairment can be more than a medical finding. It can become a new and serious challenge to a person’s social identity.
That was one of the findings from the latest research by Renee Beard, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the College of the Holy Cross. Beard kicked off the Fall 2017 Gerontology Speaker Series at UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School with a talk entitled “Forget Me Not: What Gets Lost in Translation in the Alzheimer’s Industrial Complex. Read more.
This blog originally appeared on the Gerontology Institute blog.
October 13, 2017
by McCormack Speaks
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The PhD Program in Global Governance and Human Security is one of four doctoral programs at UMass Boston collaborating in the Coasts and Communities IGERT Fellowship Program. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as part of its prestigious Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program, the Coasts and Communities program will train a new kind of environmental problem solver, one able to think and act across disciplinary and geographic boundaries and to develop and implement sustainable solutions to pressing environmental problems facing coasts and communities.
Just completing their orientation on the island of Nantucket and in a Boston Harbor “boot camp,” two IGERT fellows reflect on the active learning in their fellowship program so far. Continue Reading →
October 11, 2017
by McCormack Speaks
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By Geralyn Maga, Gerontology Institute
Robyn Stone, co-director of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, has been named an Influencer in Aging by Next Avenue. The Influencers in Aging list recognizes 50 advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts “at the forefront of changing how we age and think about aging.”
“Stone brings decades of research experience and senior-level policy expertise to LeadingAge’s mission to inspire, serve and advocate for older Americans,” reads the Next Avenue description of Stone’s accomplishments. “She has leveraged her expertise into advocacy for better long-term care policy, with a particular emphasis on lower income older adults.”
Candidates for the Influencers in Aging designation are nominated by Next Avenue readers, editors, and contributors, as well as past Influencers in Aging.
“We searched for a diverse and broad list of people whose work to improve the lives of older adults in the areas of health, money, work, living and caregiving was especially impressive over the past year,” writes Shayla Stern, director of editorial content for Next Avenue. Read more.
This post originally appeared in the Gerontology Institute blog.