Healthy Aging Academy

senior-woman

The Healthy Aging Academy was developed to serve as a beacon for the “Healthy Aging” pillar, detailed in FAU President John Kelly’s Strategic Plan for the Race to Excellence.

The academy’s mission is to advance client-centered education and scientific discovery in the field of gerontology and serve as a bridge between instruction, training, and research at FAU and the practitioners who are caring for the aging population in our surrounding communities.

The Healthy Aging Academy’s Guiding Principles

  • We promote education in gerontology by preparing gerontological social workers who are well prepared to meet the needs of a growing aging population through high-quality services.
  • We enhance professionalization of gerontological social workers in their evidence-based practice based on current research findings.
  • We actively promote culturally-sensitive practice by connecting students with older adults from diverse cultural, ethnic and class backgrounds.
  • We develop and maintain interprofessional collaborations with other aging-related disciplines to expand the quantity and quality of gerontological research and practice.

The Healthy Aging Certificate Program

The academy offers a Healthy Aging Certificate Program, which prepares Bachelor (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) students for careers in service to diverse aging populations. The certificate program provides a specialized knowledge and skill base in the key practice, practice evaluation, research and policy areas needed to ensure delivery of high-quality services to diverse age groups. View full details and application requirements

The Healthy Aging Academy Fellow Program

Beginning in Spring 2022, the academy plans to launch a Healthy Aging Academy Fellow Program for students to actively engage in aging-related research activities under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Stay tuned for more information.

Location and Contact Information

The Healthy Aging Academy is housed in the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work within the College of Social Work and Criminal Justice. For more information, please contact Dr. Michael Kane, Healthy Aging Academy Chair via email at mkane@fau.edu or by phone at (561) 297-3234.