Healthy Aging Academy
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 & Harvey Sandler School of Social Work within the College of Social Work & Criminal Justice. For more information, please contact Dr. Juyoung Park, Healthy Aging Academy Chair: jpark14@fau.edu | (561) 297-4537.