Residential Care, Aging Services Expert to Lead School
Focused on Improving Life for Growing Aging Population

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Contact: Chip Rose
UMBC News
410-455-5793
crose@umbc.edu

BALTIMORE - The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) announced today the appointment of J. Kevin Eckert as Dean of the Erickson School of Aging Studies. Eckert, a nationally renowned researcher on residential care, assisted living, and aging services, will lead the new school at UMBC. A primary focus of the school will be improving the quality of education for professionals in the burgeoning aging services and care industry, which is essential to ensuring a decent quality of life for America’s growing aging population.

The Erickson School of Aging Studies was established in April 2004 with a $5 million gift from John Erickson, founder and chief executive officer of Erickson, the Baltimore-based firm that is a national manager and developer of campuses for middle income people over 62 years of age. The school provides executive education, public policy leadership, and applied investigative research related to aging, aging services and seniors housing and care. Future plans also include offering specialty degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

“One of the goals of The Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC,” Eckert said, “is to improve the lives of the mid-life and older population,” Eckert said. “I am delighted to have this opportunity to address areas of importance to mid-life and older adults, solidify UMBC’s national reputation in the field and position Maryland as a national leader in innovative aging services, research and policy,” he said.

Eckert is also the co-director of the joint UMBC/University of Maryland Baltimore doctoral program in gerontology, one of a handful of university programs in the nation offering a Ph.D. in gerontology. He has written or edited three books and 55 articles and book chapters on aging services, residential care and assisted living. Eckert has received several awards, including a prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship, a Senior Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health’s National Research Service Award program and a University System of Maryland Board of Regents Award for Excellence.

Since coming to UMBC in 1987, Eckert’s research projects have brought over $11 million in funding to the university. He is also Director of the Center for Aging Studies at UMBC and has been a faculty member in the University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology since 1987.

The Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC:

The Erickson School of Aging Studies was established in April 2004 with a $5 million gift from John Erickson, CEO and founder, of Erickson. The school focuses on credit and non-credit professional education, research and policy in aging services and care. An Executive Development program designed for seniors housing and care professionals is offered throughout the year with courses ranging from management and operations to sales and marketing. Plans include the creation of specialty degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For more information, visit http://www.umbc.edu/erickson.