The Rutgers Taskforce on Aging
an awardee of the Spring 2022 Rutgers–New Brunswick IDEA Innovation Grant.
About the Taskforce.
After years of teaching students about aging and working in the community with older adults, we wanted to do more. In 2022, we applied and were awarded an Innovation Grant that supported us to continue our reach and dedication to dismantling ageism from our positions. Read more about our work here.
Our History
Since 2020, our faculty group has been convening to lead programs for careers in Aging week. With the support of this grant, we have been able to think more about sustaining our work together.
In the spring of 2022. together were awarded an IDEA Innovation Grant by the Rutgers New Brunswick Division of Diversity. Inclusion. and Community Engagement (DICE) Office for our project, "The Rutgers Aging Initiative." The Rutgers Taskforce on Aging seeks to gather faculty and staff based on our unified goal to educate about aging experiences in an inclusive and anti-oppressive perspective that is also based on our research and practice experiences.
Our Activities
So far, with the IDEA innovation Grant and the help of dear faculty friends from the Schools of Public Health, Nursing, and Occupational Therapy. Dr. Snedeker and Dr. Davis have:
- Distributed a university-wide survey to fellow Instructors to assess whether they are including content on aging in their courses, how they are infusing this, and their comfort level in discussing this content.
- Assembled a toolkit for instructors with resources and classroom activities that help support learning about aging and ageism in different contexts
- Hosted a meet and greet event as part of careers in Aging week to foster connection and set the stage for sustaining our efforts.
Principle Investigators
Lauren Snedeker
Tracy E.K. Davis
Dr. Tracy Davis has a Master's degree from the University of South Florida and a Doctoral degree from the University of Kentucky with a certificate in Applied Statistics. Dr. Davis is a faculty member in the School of Health Professions where she is the Gerontology Track Coordinator for the aging track in the undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Dr. Davis is involved in numerous research projects. Her research focuses on HIV prevention among older adults and incorporating aging education into the high school curriculum.
Survey Results
Our group quickly realized that we all featured different content in our courses that helps students understand ageism and consider ways to reframe their thinking. We then became curious about how other instructors felt about discussing ageism in their courses, especially those who might be teaching about topics that at the surface, seem unrelated to ageism and its' impacts. So, we launched a virtual survey to assess faculty impressions.
The Sample
Key Findings
Meaning they can define ageism and describe its' impacts.