As the number of aging adults rises in Orange County and across the nation, Cal State Fullerton continues to help students explore in-demand careers in the field of gerontology.
During its annual Internships and Careers in Aging event, industry leaders will visit campus to share insights from their field, network with students and host informational booths. The Thursday, April 5, event will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. in Ruby Gerontology Center’s Shapiro Wing.
Among the speakers are several Titan alumni, including Rosemary De Cuir ’86 (B.A. sociology), consultant for Alliance Family Advocates; Diane Patterson ’06 (M.S., gerontology), founder of Success in Aging TV; and Chere Vought ’93 (B.A. communications-advertising), founder and CEO of A Plan for Senior Care. Joining the alumni panelists are Anne Grey, executive director of the Orange County Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and Pauline Abbott, director emeritus of the former CSUF Institute of Gerontology.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau‘s Facts for Features 2017, there were 47.8 million people age 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2015, accounting for 14.9 percent of the total population. By 2060, this population is projected to total 98.2 million or one in four U.S. residents.
The university offers both a minor and a master’s degree in gerontology through the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Its gerontology-related research now operates out of the College of Health and Human Development’s Center for Successful Aging, since the Institute of Gerontology sunsetted in 2015.
Sponsored by the Sigma Phi Omega gerontology honor society, the Internships and Careers in Aging event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact 657-278-7057 or gerontology@fullerton.edu.