FSU’s Claude Pepper Center director Dawn C. Carr elected to Gerontological Society of America board to help advance research on aging
Tallahassee, Florida – Dawn C. Carr, director of Florida State University’s Claude Pepper Center and a professor in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, has been elected to the board of directors of the Gerontological Society of America, a major interdisciplinary organization focused on the study of aging.
Carr will begin her term on January 1. Her appointment places her on the board of an organization with more than 6,000 members, including researchers, educators, clinicians and policy professionals who work in different fields connected to aging.
The Gerontological Society of America, commonly known as GSA, brings together professionals who study aging from a wide range of perspectives. Its work includes research, education, clinical practice and public policy, with an emphasis on understanding the challenges and opportunities associated with growing older.
For Carr, the board position provides an opportunity to contribute to a field that has been central to much of her academic career.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve GSA and contribute to an organization that has played such an important role in advancing the study of aging,” Carr said. “As our population ages, it is increasingly important that we bring together researchers and professionals across disciplines to better understand what helps people remain healthy, active and engaged throughout their lives.”
Carr’s research has focused heavily on the factors that influence health and activity among older adults. Over the past decade, she has examined how different parts of people’s lives can shape their health and well-being during the second half of life.
Her work has looked at issues such as employment, retirement, volunteering, caregiving and social relationships. She has also studied how major health events can affect people as they age.
Rather than looking at aging only through the lens of medical conditions, Carr’s research considers a broader set of experiences and circumstances. Her work examines how social connections, work and other forms of engagement can influence people’s ability to remain healthy and active later in life.
More recently, her research has expanded to examine the effects of experiences earlier in life. Carr has studied how early-life experiences and exposures may influence outcomes many years later.
She has also explored psychological resources that may help people remain resilient as they grow older. That research adds another dimension to understanding how individuals respond to changes and challenges over the course of their lives.
At Florida State University, Carr leads the Claude Pepper Center, which is dedicated to research and policy work intended to improve the lives of older adults.
The center focuses on issues affecting older people and their families. It also works with researchers, government agencies and policymakers to encourage decisions based on research and evidence.
Carr’s role at the center gives her an opportunity to connect academic research with broader discussions about policies and programs affecting older adults.
The Gerontological Society of America was founded in 1945 and has grown into an organization that brings together specialists from many different areas of aging research and practice. Its membership includes professionals working in biological, medical, behavioral and social research, as well as education, public policy and practical services.
The organization’s interdisciplinary approach is closely connected to the broad nature of Carr’s own work. Aging can involve questions about physical health, mental well-being, employment, family relationships, community involvement and public policy, making collaboration across fields an important part of the research.
Carr joined Florida State University in 2016. Before arriving at FSU, she worked as a researcher at the Stanford Center on Longevity.
She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Carolina Program for Health and Aging Research at the Institute on Aging at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Earlier in her career, she worked as a researcher at the Scripps Gerontology Center.
Her professional background has therefore included research institutions in several parts of the country before she took on her current roles at Florida State.
Beginning January 1, Carr will add the GSA board position to her work at FSU and the Claude Pepper Center. The appointment comes as researchers and policymakers continue to examine how communities and institutions can respond to an aging population.
With her background in sociology, aging research and public policy, Carr will bring experience from several areas to the national organization. Her work has consistently focused on understanding what can help people maintain health, activity and engagement as they grow older.
Her election also highlights the role of Florida State University in research concerning aging and the experiences of older adults. Through the Claude Pepper Center and Carr’s academic work, the university continues to contribute research to discussions involving the health, well-being and quality of life of older Americans.
