Posted by Hilary Edwards on Fri, Dec 14, 2012
Creativity in the lives of aging adults emphasizes their potentials rather than their challenges.
The National Center for Creative Aging explains: “Health and wellness can be achieved in many ways, including using creativity to work the mind and body. Research has shown that mental activity stimulated by arts activities can be especially beneficial to people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Cases of cognitive disabilities increase with age, so as the population lives longer more people will be diagnosed. By bringing arts programs to people with cognitive disabilities, you can create more opportunities for people with cognitive loss and their caregivers.” http://www.creativeaging.org/health-wellness (accessed December 14, 2012)
Encouraging creativity in the lives of older adults strengthens morale, enhances physical
health, and enriches relationships.
Historically, older adults have functioned as the keepers of culture in society, and are responsible for passing on the history and values of a community to the next generation. Creativity in later life wraps this gift to children, grandchildren, and society in the form of beautiful artwork. The Sixth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging, hosted by Fielding Graduate University, is a highly interactive gathering of diverse leaders and community members interested in shaping a dynamic future for older adults throughout the world. The conference features the following workshops and presentations focused on creativity and aging:
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Say ‘Yes’ to Tango: A Conversation about Creative Aging by Lola Fraknoi
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Save My Place: A Performance Piece on Dying by Dori Gillam
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Nimble Minds, Nimble Bodies: Exploring How the Creative Arts Contribute to Lifelong Human Development, Health, and Quality of Life by Michael Patterson
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The Art of Aging by Richard and Alice Matzkin
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Visionaries Have Wrinkles: Serving the Generation Who Will Change the World by Karen Sands
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The Courage to be Brilliant: How to Aging with Courage, Wisdom and Grace by Marta Monahan
The Sixth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging features a keynote address by Wendy Lustbader, MSW, who will speak about “The Unexpected Pleasures of Growing Older"—the title of her latest book. She has also written and spoken about kindness and how to nurture a basic positive attitude towards whatever life brings as we get older. Featured speaker Dr. Brian de Vries is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a member of the leadership council for the American Society on Aging, and co-chair of the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network constituency group. Dr. de Vries will speak about his extensive work on aging experiences, including bereavement among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender adults. Further highlighted speakers include one of the reigning pioneers of gerontology, James Birren, who will receive Fielding Graduate University’s Creative Longevity and Wisdom Award along with well-known spiritual leader Ram Dass, who will relay his experience in spiritual methods and practices via webinar.
There is still time to register at the early bird price! To learn more and to register, please visit www.positiveaging.fielding.edu
The International Conference on Positive Aging aims to provide practitioners and policymakers with knowledge and tools to improve their support of older persons and increase the quality of life for all.
For more information:
Click here for the website: Sixth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging
Facebook - Keep up with the latest information about the conference, and access to a network of individuals who are interested and involved in the topic of positive aging
Click here for Facebook: The Fielding Positive Aging Conference
YouTube – View videos of speakers from previous conferences
Click here for YouTube:Channel for Positive Aging
**Photo by Peter Whitehouse
News Archive
Posted by Sylvia Williams on Mon, Apr 30, 2012
Marion Somers, PhD (HOD ’88), aka Dr. Marion, is the spokesperson for the “3 in 4 Need More” campaign, which spreads the message that health insurance isn’t enough. About three in four of us will need some form of long-term care insurance or planning to cover longer-lasting illnesses and disabilities not covered by regular insurance or Medicare.
Dr. Marion travels in her souped-up, 50s-era Greyhound bus. “Long-term care needs can sneak up on us as quickly as the senior tsunami that is heading our way, which is why it’s so important for Americans to plan ahead.”
To help Americans plan ahead, Dr. Marion's bus will crisscross the country this summer to talk with seniors and caregivers. Her advice: it's never too soon to start planning for long-term care needs and costs. As part of the campaign, Dr. Marion, 3in4 Need More, and Emeritus are launching a nationwide "Bring Your Talent" contest. The search is for seniors or their caregivers in the U.S. who want to showcase their talent – from singing and dancing to juggling, acrobatics, and more! “Bring Your Talent” will help families alleviate the costs of long-term care by offering free stays at any Emeritus Senior Living Community, with a grand prize of free rent for one year.
You are invited to follow the tour on http://drmarion.com/ and http://www.3in4needmore.com/
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Posted by Sylvia Williams on Thu, Apr 19, 2012
Mary E. McCall, PhD, joins the School of Human & Organizational Development as a core faculty member, having served previously as a research faculty member. McCall will continue her work in the area of methods and also add to the doctoral curriculum in adult development, social change, and the concentration in Aging, Culture, and Society. Fielding looks forward to her taking a leadership role for the university as it prepares to host for the third time the International Conference on Positive Aging
For over 20 years, McCall has been a professor and consultant in the areas of aging and social policy, communication, collaborative problem-solving, mediating conflict, and applied research methods. She holds a PhD in human development and aging and is a tenured full professor at Saint Mary's College of California. She has extensive experience in designing, implementing, collecting, and analyzing data for research that includes quantitative, qualitative, laboratory, community-based, and multi-method approaches to investigation.
McCall's research in aging focusses on cross-cultural comparisons of values in the formulation of social policies for older persons. She has worked in the area of service-enriched subsidized housing for low-income elders and families and has published in the area of community empowerment, social interaction and longevity, cultural differences in elder abuse, and empowerment of older persons. She has considerable experience designing and delivering diversity training to deal with issues of difference and community building in higher education (with students, faculty and staff). She is a certified trainer for the Campus of Difference workshop from the Anti-Defamation League and a certified Values Coach through Values Technology, Inc.
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Posted by Sylvia Williams on Thu, Mar 22, 2012
At the winter meeting of the American Psychological Association (APA), Eric Willmarth , PhD, of Kentwood, MI, was voted chair-elect of the Coalition for Academic, Scientific, and Applied Research Psychology (CASAP). This group serves as a forum for issues coming before the APA Council of Representatives and helps to formulate positions on issues which further the interests of research in psychology.
Dr. Willmarth is a 1999 graduate of Fielding’s School of Psychology.
Congratulations, Eric.
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Posted by Sylvia Williams on Mon, Dec 19, 2011
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
7-9 pm
Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort – San Rafael Conference Room
633 East Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA
Free and open to the public
Richard Leider is a respected life/work planning specialist and author of The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work. The book serves as a jumping-off point for those who’d truly like to combine their “own unique gifts” with “the needs of the world” to carve out a vocational niche that’s both individualized and highly rewarding. According to Fielding founding president, Frederic M. Hudson, “The Power of Purpose teaches you to embrace the complex questions life is asking you. Find your ‘why’ and your ‘how’ will become clear.”
Leider is founder and chairman of The Inventure Group, a coaching and consulting firm in Minneapolis, MN. He works with national organizations such as Ameriprise, Ericsson, Habitat for Humanity, MetLife, and PricewaterhouseCoopers and is ranked by Forbes as one of the top five most respected executive coaches in the country. He teaches executive education at Duke Corporate Education and is a guest lecturer in the Harvard Business School’s general management program.
Two of Leider’s books, Repacking Your Bags and The Power of Purpose are considered classics in the personal development field. Two other books have been referred to as breakthrough books on positive aging.
News Archive
Posted by Sylvia Williams on Tue, Dec 13, 2011
Fielding Graduate University delivered on its promise to bring together leading scholars and practitioners to look at new research and practice concerning how to bring meaning, value, and appreciation to the aging process. 
On December 6-9, 2011, in Los Angeles, 170 participants at the Fifth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging gathered to learn and to be inspired by experts and colleagues.
Among the media with interest in the conference outcomes was Lance Orozco of the NPR station KCLU. He chose to report on what experts say about why so many people are unprepared for the post-retirement period of their lives despite America’s population living longer and seniors being healthier than ever.
http://www.kclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/120811.agingconference.mp3
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Posted by Sylvia Williams on Thu, Dec 01, 2011
Writer and cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson is slated to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Change and Positive Aging from Fielding Graduate University. The award will be presented during the Fifth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging. Co-sponsored by Fielding, the conference is being held December 6-9, 2011, at the California Endowment Center, 1000 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles. Bateson will deliver the keynote address, a dialogue about her latest book, Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom. The conference schedule is available at www.positiveaging.fielding.edu
Bateson has taught at Harvard, Northeastern, and George Mason Universities, and since 2006 has been a Visiting Scholar at the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College. She travels extensively to lecture on her model of Active Wisdom, which covers community dialogue, the contributions and improvisations of engaged older adults, and the consciousness of the life cycle through which she explores intergenerational communication and ways of experiencing time. In her memoir With a Daughter’s Eye, Bateson discusses life with famous parents, Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson.
The conference theme, “Innovation in Positive Aging,” invites an exploration of the ways in which people are creating new and more effective answers to the question What does it mean to age well? During dynamic, interactive sessions, presenters and participants will consider issues of community, wellness, creativity, and life transitions as they relate to the aging population – both those in the midst of the experience and professionals working in the field.
News Archive
Posted by Sylvia Williams on Mon, Oct 24, 2011
Fielding Graduate University has finalized the program for the Fifth Annual International Conference on Positive Aging, December 6-9, 2011, it was announced today by the planning committee led by Katrina Rogers, Fielding’s newly appointed provost and senior vice president. The schedule of events being held in Los Angeles, CA, and the line-up of leading experts who will speak, lead workshops and seminars, and be panel discussants is available at
http://www.positiveaging.fielding.edu/conference-program.
Hotel information and registration forms - Early bird registration ends on November 15, 2011 – can be found at
http://positiveaging2011.eventbrite.com/
Harry R. Moody will be the conference master of ceremonies. Moody is the director of academic affairs for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which is one of the conference sponsors.
Keynote speaker will be writer and cultural anthropologist Mary Catherine Bateson. She will speak about the contributions and improvisations of engaged older adults which she explores in her recent book Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom.
Innovation in Positive Aging, the theme of this year’s conference, is an opportunity to explore the ways in which people are creating new and more effective answers to one of the biggest challenges of our times: what does it mean to age well? This small question has big implications for how we build community spaces, how we take care of our physical health, how we express ourselves through creative processes, and how we tackle life’s often complicated transitions. In workshops and table presentations, conference participants take up new ideas to forward our understanding of these questions by tackling the conference themes of community, wellness, creativity, and life transitions. Presentations range across these themes as well as across cultures as we consider how other societies are addressing the challenges and opportunities of aging.
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Posted by Sylvia Williams on Thu, Sep 29, 2011
Mary Harrison, a doctoral student in Fielding Graduate University’s clinical psychology program, will accept the first Dr. Mary Ann Quaranta Elder Justice Award for “True Grit,” a program she administers to serve the needs of elderly prisoners in Carson City, NV.
Housed at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, True Grit addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the aging prison population. The program is staffed by volunteers, and no additional cost is passed on to taxpayers. The program began in 2004; over 265 prisoners have participated prior to their deaths or discharge.
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