I. Early History by Dr. Sue Saxon, March 1998

IN THE BE GINNING... USF had a College of Basic Studies (from 1961 to 1972), an academic unit composed of many departments responsible for the first two years of general education at USF. I was hired in 1963 as an assistant professor in the Behavioral Sciences department chaired by Les Malpass. Tom Rich took over as chair of the Behavioral Sciences department from 1966 to 1970. Our department taught a human behavior course extending through three quarters for general education requirements. The faculty was truly multidisciplinary and the first two quarters of the human behavior course included concepts from biology, psychology, sociology, and anthropology. The third quarter was a special topics course depending on the individual instructor’s interests and expertise. As far as I know, the first formal course in aging at USF was one of the third quarter courses in human behavior which dealt with aging and was taught by Tom Rich and myself as our respective special topics courses since we both had an interest in aging. We had also tried to include aging content in courses on adolescent psychology which we each taught for the psychology department. Unfortunately, the available literature and information on the human aging process was quite negative at that point in time and I’am not sure whether we interested students in the aging process or severely traumatized them about what was yet to come in life.

When the graduate program was initiated in 1967 (the first class graduated in 1969) there were very few people doing in-service education for professionals working with older adults or actually doing any type of training or education in aging, so we faculty members were in great demand. In fact, our primary mission at that time other than teaching in the Master’s program was community service, not research. We were on the road constantly doing workshops, speeches to professionals as well as to lay people, and consulting----not only in the Tampa Bay area, but throughout the state and often out of state as well. Tom Rich and I, and later Wiley Mangum who joined the faculty in 1972, traveled the state numerous times participating in a series of workshops sponsored by the Division of Aging in Tallahassee. A typical circuit in these series included Panama City, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami. These would each be one or two day workshops and were sometimes difficult with our individual full time teaching schedules. But it was challenging and we always had extremely receptive and appreciative audiences. The university considered this to be important and worthwhile scholarly activity and it remained a major component of the Aging Studies Program for years.

Our graduate students in the early years were mostly professionals who were already working in the field of aging, many in very responsible positions, and they were stimulating and highly motivated individuals. We only admitted graduate students to the program in the fall and they took all of their course work together, so they had lots of interaction with each other and with us. With nurses, social workers, rehabilitation counselors, physical therapists, administrators, etc. as our students we probably learned as much as they did. Two members of our charter class who pursued doctoral degrees later returned to teach at USF in aging. Dr. Mary Jean Etten teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in death and dying and Dr. Larry Dupree teaches as well as serving as Chair of the Aging and Mental Health department at the Florida Mental Health Institute.

As to funding, Title V of the Older Americans Act enacted in 1965 provided for support in training people to work with older adults. The Older Americans Act was administered through the Administration on Aging (AOA) headed by Clark Tibbits. Between 1967 and 1980 Tom Rich obtained over one million dollars ($1,301,869 to be exact) in grants from AOA for the M.A. degree program. Our early graduate students were fully supported by grant money and were also able to attend national meetings through this support. Dr. Tibbits was extremely supportive of the program at USF and he and other nationally recognized scholars in aging visited the campus a number of times. We continued to have a very strong applied focus in educating people to work effectively with older adults, both in direct service and in program planning and evaluation.

Of course, over the years the focus of aging activities at USF has changed in accordance with the growth of the university and a more traditional emphasis on research productivity.

II. Chronological Development of the Gerontology Program by Dr. Sue Saxon, March 1998

The M.A. in Gerontology program officially began in 1967 in the Institute on Aging, a unit in the College of Liberal Arts Division of Social Sciences. It was one of the first two degree-offering programs in gerontology in the United States; the other program was at North Texas State University with a focus on long-term care. Before the development of the Institute on Aging, content in gerontology had been offered as a special topics course in Behavioral Sciences. Because of the changing demography of Florida and the unexpected interest shown by students and faculty in the Behavioral Sciences aging course further planning was initiated. The chairman of Behavioral Sciences, Dr. Tom Rich, met with Dr. Alfred Lawton who was conducting research on aging in St. Petersburg, and together they began to plan a program in gerontology. Since both of them had academic backgrounds in Public Health, the professional degree model seemed most useful as a way to develop a work force with expertise in gerontology. A multidisciplinary faculty committee was convened and we encouraged Dr. Rich and Dr. Lawton to apply for an Administration on Aging Planning grant. The University of South Florida was awarded $43,552 in 1967 to initiate a curriculum in gerontology. The first M.A. degree students graduated in December 1969.

According to the mission statement, students from a wide variety of undergraduate backgrounds were admitted for graduate work in gerontology. Admission was based on work experience, GRE scores, and grade point average. Dr. Tom Rich was the director of the Institute on Aging and the M.A. program from 1967-1971. In addition to Dr. Rich who had degrees in psychology and public health, charter faculty included Alden Gilmore (psychology), Max Kaplan (sociology-leisure), Jerome Krivanek (biology), Alfred Lawton (medicine), Bill Morell (business administration), Sue Saxon, (psychology), Albert Wilson (sociology), and Robert Davis (biology).

There were several institutes at the university during those years and according to former Dean Travis Northcutt. These were started by Dr .William Taft, then Director of Graduate Studies. He put these institutes in place without any internal review process in the university and without notification to the Board of Regents. Consequently, institute status was somewhat controversial since it was rather nontraditional. In time the university and the Board of Regents called a halt to the development of additional institutes at USF unless they went through the formal procedures for establishing new academic units at the university.

The curriculum for the M.A. in Gerontology degree consisted of four quarters of multidisciplinary courses in the Institute on Aging and one quarter of full time field placement in an appropriate agency serving older adults. Specific courses offered in the first few years were: biology of aging, psychology of aging, social research methods, aging and personality, institutional administration, sociological aspects of aging, human relations in organizations, leisure for the aging, administrative aspects of demography, seminar in social gerontology, and field placement. Each of these courses was developed by the individual faculty member who taught the course as we had essentially no guidelines from other programs to assist in curriculum development. Also, it was extremely difficult to find appropriate textbooks and journal articles because very few resources were available in aging at that time.

In 1971-1972 the Institute on Aging was located in a new unit, the Center for Research and Development established in 1966. The USF Center for Research and Development housed multidisciplinary sponsored programs such as aging, marine science, exceptional children and adults, speech pathology and audiology, and rehabilitation. This center was structured within the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs and directed by an Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs. We were still in a very nontraditional structure. In 1971-1972 Tom Rich was director of the M.A. program with Al Wilson and Al Lawton as co-directors.

In 1972-1973 the Aging Studies Program became part of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Al Wilson became the director because Tom Rich took over as Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. In 1974 Tom Rich resigned as Dean of the College (Travis Northcutt became Dean) and once again became Director of the Aging Studies Program from 1974 to 1990. The graduate curriculum expanded to include such courses as economics of aging, death and dying, and social policy and planning.

In 1973-1974 we added four core courses for undergraduates to provide students with a broad educational experience in gerontology, but did not yet offer an undergraduate degree. The four core courses available were introduction to gerontology, applied gerontology, culture, society and aging, and a seminar on selected topics in social gerontology.

In 1977-1978 we initiated a comprehensive examination for the M.A. degree as well as coordinating several human services courses at the undergraduate level for students interested in careers in human services. Dr. Wiley Mangum joined the faculty in 1972 and Dr. Juanita Garcia in 1979. Both of these faculty members have remained active in the department for many years as I have. Dr. Garcia retired in 2001, I retired in 2002, and Dr. Mangum will retire in 2003.

Also in 1977-1978 the Center for Applied Gerontology was in operation, one of five specialized centers in a new Human Resources Institute with the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Activities of the center included research, program evaluation, short-term training, resource materials and other activities “intended to complement the educational program in gerontology”. The Institutional Exchange Center on Gerontology was a university system-wide institute developed as one of the projects of the Center for Applied Gerontology. Professor Wayne Vasey came to USF in 1975 as a visiting professor in Aging Studies and Social Work and from 1980 to 1983 he was acting director of the International Exchange Center as well as teaching courses in the aging studies program. Wayne had a most distinguished career in social work and aging and brought a fund of information about the development of aging activities, especially at the national level. Dr. Harold Sheppard came to USF as director of the International Exchange Center in 1983 and continued in that position and also taught in the aging studies program until 1991. He, too, was a nationally recognized scholar and administrator in aging having served as Associate Director of the National Council on Aging and as advisor to the President of the United States regarding aging issues and policy.

By 1981-1982 there was a minor in human services listed in the university catalog and the aging program was identified officially as the Department of Gerontology. The mission statement for the M.A. program now indicated: “The primary objective of the graduate program in aging is to train personnel for leadership positions in the planning, development, delivery, and evaluation of community services for older persons. Preference is given to applicants who demonstrate commitment to or experience in programs for older persons.”

Also in 1981-1982 the university converted from the quarter system to the semester system and we began the process to obtain approval for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Gerontology. We were approved to begin the B.A. program in the fall of 1983 with three tracks: nursing home administration, senior center administration, and retirement housing management. Dr. Larry Mullins, who served as chair of the department from 1990-1994, joined the faculty in 1980. He left USF for another administrative position in 1994. Dr. Jordan Kosberg joined the faculty in 1982 with an extremely strong research background in social work and remained a key faculty member until 1992 when he left USF for an administrative/teaching position at another university.

By 1984 we were offering both B.A. and B.S. degrees, a minor in Human Services at

the undergraduate level, and the M.A. degree. The B.S. degree was a specialist degree to prepare students for entry-level positions in specialized career areas, especially nursing home administration. The mission statement of the program now stated: “Gerontology is the study of the process of aging in all its many aspects--physical, psychological, and social. In the Department of Gerontology, particular emphasis is placed upon applied gerontology, with the goal of educating students who in their professional careers in the field of aging will work to sustain or improve the quality of life of older persons. To this end the Department offers the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Gerontology, Bachelor of Science in Gerontology, and Master of Arts in Gerontology.” We also offered a thesis option for graduate students who wanted to pursue a doctoral degree or who were interested in a research career in aging.

In 1989 the graduate curriculum expanded to include three concentrations: research, program planning and administration, and direct service and mental health. A dual degree program with social work became available to qualified students.

In 1991-1992 the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences became the College of Arts and Sciences. At this time we developed an undergraduate minor in Gerontology which included sixteen hours of upper level courses and also developed a certificate in mental health and aging at the graduate level. Completion of the graduate mental health and aging concentration met the educational requirements for licensure as a Mental Health Counselor. Dr. Larry Mullins became chair of the Gerontology program in 1990 and chaired the department until 1994. Dr. Wiley Mangum served as acting chair until 1996 when Dr. William Haley joined the faculty and took over as chair. Dr. Mangum is the associate chair of the department and remains in this position.

In 1995-1996 the university catalog mentioned the interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Aging Studies program for the first time and stated: “The interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Aging Studies is the first of its kind in the U.S., and to the best of our knowledge, the world. It combines an emphasis on a broad based foundation in the interdisciplinary aspects of aging with a focus on developing in-depth expertise in a research area. The Ph.D. in Aging Studies is augmented by the university wide Institute on Aging. Although housed in the Department of Gerontology it is governed by an interdisciplinary committee.” Dr. James Mortimer currently heads the Institute on Aging.

By 1997 the M.A. program no longer had specific tracks for specialization but students could select courses to concentrate in case management, administration, mental health, or research. In addition, the Gerontology department began to offer two graduate certificates in Gerontology (1998). The graduate certificate requires fifteen hours of course work while the Post Baccalaureate certificate requires eighteen hours of course work in Gerontology.

At the time of this writing full time faculty in the Department of Gerontology include William Haley (chair), Mary Kaplan, Wiley Mangum, Cathy McEvoy, Sandra Reynolds, John Skinner, and Brent Small.

III. An Update on Our History by Dr. William Haley, March 2005

In the document above, Sue Saxon described the development of the Department of Gerontology from its beginnings in the 1960s until 1998. I will provide a brief update of developments from 1998 to the present.

Over the past few years, we have experienced the retirement of several of our senior faculty members. Sue Saxon retired in 2002, Wiley Mangum retired in 2003, and John Skinner retired in 2004. We also hired three new faculty members, Ross Andel, Jessica McIlvane, and Tamara Baker.

We went through a dramatic change in our structure in the summer of 2003. At that time, Provost Renu Khator authorized a reorganization of aging units within the Academic Affairs division of USF. As part of this reorganization, the Department of Gerontology and the Institute on Aging were dissolved, and their faculty, staff, and resources were merged with those of the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging to form a new unit—the School of Aging Studies. The School of Aging Studies currently has 12 faculty members, and the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging remains a Center under the umbrella of the School. With the merger, the School of Aging Studies also gained four new faculty members—Kathy Hyer, Larry Polivka, Jennifer Salmon, and Glenn Mitchell. The School of Aging Studies remains an academic unit in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The new School of Aging Studies continues the traditions and programs of the former Department of Gerontology, but has been enriched by the emphasis on public policy and long-term care provided by the Policy Center and its many programs. The School of Aging Studies continues to host the campus-wide Ph.D. in Aging Studies program, and now also hosts the campus-wide Collaborative on Aging. The Collaborative is directed by a campus-wide committee that works to enhance the capacity and reputation of USF as a center for excellence in aging research and education.

In summer of 2004 the faculty and staff from the former Department of Gerontology and former Institute on Aging, as well as the faculty and staff from the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging, moved into newly renovated space in the Florida Mental Health Institute. Our new location is in an area of the campus that has been designated as the home of interdisciplinary programs. Our new space has allowed us to house all of our faculty and staff, as well as our doctoral students and project staff, in a single location. On February 18, 2005 we held an Open House to celebrate the opening of our new space and had over 100 faculty, staff, and students in attendance. We were honored by the presence of a number of prominent guest speakers including USF President Judy Genshaft, Provost Renu Khator, Dr. Allan Goldman (Chair of Internal Medicine), Dr. Arthur Guilford (Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences), and Dr. James Goodwin (Director of Research at Help the Aged, a prominent foundation in the United Kingdom). Our guest speakers expressed their support for our efforts in the School of Aging Studies and the Collaborative on Aging, and helped us celebrate the progress that we have made.

In looking back at the history provided by Sue Saxon, I see a great deal of continuity, as well as growth, over the nearly 40 years of activity in academic gerontology at USF. Early visionary leaders, including Tom Rich, Sue Saxon, and Wiley Mangum, developed programs and established academic units that have had an opportunity to grow in subsequent years. We have retained the emphasis on areas including applied gerontological research, education of graduate and undergraduate students, and strong linkages with local community service providers that were early hallmarks of these programs. Although the names of these academic units have changed over time, we have retained the values that led to the founding of the original Institute on Aging, Aging Studies Program, and Department of Gerontology, and are well situated to continue these traditions.

At present the School of Aging Studies and Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging educate over 3,000 USF students per year; provide extensive community and professional service related to aging; and have over $2.5 million in grants and contracts to support our research activities. We thank the early pioneers at USF who made gerontology an emphasis at the university and pledge to continue these efforts in the years ahead.