V.
TO: Senate
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Senate Committee on University Priorities
?
Memorandum
FROM:
John Water
Chair, SCU
Vice Presid
S.04-18
RE:
Departmental Status for ?
DATE: ?
January 30, 2004
Gerontology ?
(revised: February 9, 2004)
The Senate Committee on University Priorities reviewed the proposal for the change
of status of the Gerontology Program to a Department at its December 3, 2003
meeting and a revision at its January 7, 2004 meeting. It was resolved to recommend
the following motion:
Motion:
"That Senate approve the proposal for Departmental Status for Gerontology."
end.
C. ?
A. Wister
J. Pierce
S
S
S
a
SIMON FRASER
UNIVERSITY ?
SCUP 04 - 004
AT HARBOUR CENTRE
MEMO
To: ?
John T. Pierce, Dean of Arts
?
From: ?
Gloria Gutman, Director, Gerontology
Program
Re: ?
Departmental Status
?
Date: ?
June 9, 2003
(Amended by J. Pierce Sept. 19, 2003; and
by A. Wister, current Director, Dec. 22,
2003)
I request that you put the following motion before the appropriate university bodies:
That the status of Gerontology be changed from a Program to a Department.
This year marks the 20
th
anniversary of the Gerontology Program. The program has grown
extensively since the post-baccalaureate Diploma in Gerontology was introduced in 1983. A
Master of Arts in Gerontology was established in 1996 and an undergraduate Minor in
Gerontology in 1999. In addition, a proposal is under development for a small, specialized
doctoral program in Gerontology, with no new resource implications. The Gerontology Program
now offers approximately 26 courses per year enrolling an average of
585
students.
The program's interdisciplinary approach to the study of aging is reflected in the diverse
academic backgrounds of its five CFL Faculty members, 16 Adjunct Professors and seven
Steering Committee members (see Appendix A). The five CFL faculty housed at Harbour Centre
form the core of the Gerontology unit. Our adjunct professors provide supporting roles,
including: graduate thesis/project committees (16); research capacity (11); and sessional
instructorships (3). The Gerontology Steering Committee, representing four faculties, and has
provided valuable direction for both the Gerontology Program and the Gerontology Research
Centre (GRC) for 20 years. Members of the committee teach undergraduate courses, sit on
Gerontology graduate theses and act as external examiners. The Gerontology Program and its
affiliated GRC have developed an international reputation as leaders in the field of gerontology
and attract considerable research funding as well as post-doctoral fellows, research associates,
and visiting scholars from around the world (see Appendix A and Annual Report). Currently,
there are seven such researchers in residence.
In reviewing these and other accomplishments, members of the G
unanimously supported the movement to departmental status. The
Committee also endorsed the move at its last meeting.
DEC 2 3 2003
Vice President
?
.CADEM1C
To ensure a multidisciplinary perspective on aging, the Gerontology Program has worked closely
with other academic departments in curriculum development and in the inclusion of faculty as
Steering Committee members, joint appointments or associate members. Programs with whom
we collaborate regularly on cross-listed and aging-related courses include Education, Psychology,
Kinesiology, Criminology and Sociology.
The objective of the Diploma Program curriculum is to provide students with a multidisciplinary
perspective on aging as well as requisite knowledge and skills for meaningful intervention and
application of research findings to practice.
The Masters program offers specialization in Aging and the Built Environment and in Health
Promotion/Population Health and Aging. Both build on the expertise of the Gerontology Faculty
and Research Centre. Students are provided training covering a combination of research skills,
policy analysis, and practice concepts.
B. Program Growth
The Gerontology Program has expanded its full-time faculty, course offerings and student base.
Dr. Gutman (Prof) started the Diploma Program in 1983; in 1991 the current Director, Dr. Wister
(Prof), joined the program. Drs. Mitchell (Associate), O'Rourke and Chaudhury (Assistant) were
added in 1999 and 2001, in support of the Masters Program. The core faculty have demonstrated
excellent performance in teaching, research and service. The average Gerontology teaching
scores for the last three years have been 3.4 for undergraduate and 3.6 for graduate courses.
Additionally, the five core faculty have published an average of 24 peer-reviewed articles per
year since 2000, in addition to multiple books and chapters. Members of the Gerontology faculty
are also very successful obtaining peer-reviewed grant funding, including several in excess of a
million dollars, such as the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (Gutman); the Cardiovascular
Health Best Practice project (Wister); and the proposed Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging
(Wister, O'Rourke).
The Diploma Program only offered nine courses when it began; only a small proportion of which
carried a Gerontology designation. It now offers approximately 17 courses (eight/semester), of
which our full-time Gerontology faculty teaches the majority. So far, over 200 students have
graduated from the Diploma Program, which currently has 74 active students. Since its
establishment in 1996, the Masters Program has become the largest Gerontology graduate
program in Canada. Thirty-one students have graduated from the Masters Program in
Gerontology (approximately six per year), and five (out of 16 thesis stream graduates) have been
accepted into Ph.D. programs (University of Southern California; University of Wisconsin;
University of Victoria; and University of Toronto-2). There are currently 29 active graduate
students. All eight graduate courses are offered each year and are taught by our five full-time
Gerontology faculty.
The Minor Program has also been growing steadily since it was introduced four years ago. The
first semester it was introduced one student applied for the credential. There are currently
3
. ?
fourteen students working towards their Minor, and over fifteen students have graduated with a
Gerontology minor.
?
-
C.
Community Outreach
Together, the GRC and Gerontology Program serve as a focal point for the community for
research, education and information on individual and population aging. The Centre also
provides consultation and technical assistance to academic, government, public and private
organizations on research, design, program development and evaluation. A full-time librarian is
housed at the GRC to support students and community.
D.
Academic and Administrative Resources
No additional academic resources are required for the proposed Department of Gerontology.
Administrative support staff, operating budget and initial equipment needs will be transferred
from the Gerontology Program.
E.
Conclusion
The rationale for departmental status is founded on the unique development of quality
undergraduate and graduate education in gerontology at SFU; the strong national and
international reputation of our academic unit, as well as for research excellence and innovation in
the study of aging; and the emergence of gerontology as a discipline in its own right. As a
department, Gerontology will be able to encourage further interdisciplinary approaches within
the Faculty of Arts through stronger representation on university committees, and will be in a
better position to meet the student demand and opportunities that lie in the years ahead.
.
Appendix A
?
SCLJP fl4 - ff14
?
r.
Gerontology Faculty and Steering Committee Members
Director and Professor, Gerontology Program
A.V. Wister
BA, MA, PhD (W Ont),
Professors
G.M. Gutman
BA (Br Col), MA (Alta), PhD (Br Col),
Associate Professors
B. Mitchell
BA, MA (Wat), PhD (McM),
(joint appointment Department of Sociology and Anthropology)
Assistant Professors
H. Chaudhury
BArch (Bangladesh), MSc Architecture (Texas A&M), PhD
(Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
N. O'Rourke
HBBA (Laurier), Dip Ed (Br Cal), MA (Br Col), PhD (Ottawa)
(associate member Department of Psychology),
Adjunct Professors
K.
Anderson
BA (Alta), BSW, MSW, (Caig), HSM, CHE
S. Brink
BSc (Madras), MSc, PhD (Purdue)
M. Carr
BN (McG), MSc (Calif Coil Health Science)
Y. Carrière
BSc, MSc, PhD (Montr)
S. Crawford
BHE (Br Col), MSc (Lond), PhD (S Fraser), RDN
V. Doyle
BA (Vic), EdM (Harv), PhD (S Fraser)
E. Gallagher
RN, BSc (Wind), MSc (Duke), PhD (S Fraser)
J.
Gray
BA, MA, (Canterbury), PhD (Lond)
M. Hollander
BA (McG), MSc (Br Cal), PhD (Vic)
D. Jackson
AA (Eastern Arizona Coil), BTh (Sask)
T. Koch
BA (Clark), MA, PhD (Br Cal)
L.
McDonald-Miszczak
BA (Alta), MA, PhD (Vic)
A. Mihailidis
BASc, MASc (Tar), PhD (Strathclyde), PEng
J. Small
BA (Central Wash), MA (New Mexico), PhD (S Calif)
C. Spencer
BA (Calg), LLB, LLM (Sask)
L. Trottier
BSc PHARM (Br Cal)
6.
•
?
Steering Committee Members
Associate
C.B.
Professor, Statistics
Dean,
and Actuarial Science Department
- -
P. Dossa,
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
R.
Gordon, Chair
Professor and Chair, School of Criminology
J. Martin,
Professor, Faculty of Education
W. Parkhouse,
Professor, School of Kinesiology
A. Rawicz,
Professor, School of Engineering Science
W.L. Thornton,
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Visiting Scholars 2003-2004
S.
Hon
Professor, Dep't of Lifelong Education, Osaka University, Japan
S.K. Lee
Senior Deputy Director, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Korea
T.
Kim
Associate Professor, Cheju National University, Korea
Updated: December 2003
