 | Washington University Announces Center for Aging
St. Louis, February 6, 2002 — To meet the needs of the increasing population of older Americans, Washington University in St. Louis has established a new, university-wide Center for Aging. This collaborative effort will apply the University’s resources to help older adults achieve a more satisfying quality of life.
“The Center’s focus is on productive aging,” says John C. Morris, M.D., director of the Center and the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Professor of Neurology at the School of Medicine. “Our goal is to enable older adults to remain engaged and live happier, healthier and longer lives.”
The Center is made possible by a gift from Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman and by support from the University and its eight schools. The Friedmans have had a longstanding interest in aging-related endeavors at the University. Their financial contributions in the past, including an endowed professorship, and their more recent support of the research component of the Center for Aging, named in their honor, have facilitated the University’s advancements in aging.
“We are very excited about this new initiative,” says Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. “The older adult population is rapidly growing and Washington University is committed to helping meet their needs. By combining a wide range of the University’s resources and those of other community organizations, both the University and St. Louis communities will benefit.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the older adult population will more than double to 70 million by the year 2030, with one in every five Americans at the age of 65 or older. “For years, Harvey Friedman has provided the vision that Washington University is the appropriate place to focus on aging,” says William A. Peck, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “With John Morris’ leadership and the University’s diverse expertise, I am confident that this new Center will further our excellence in aging research and clinical care.”
The new Center is organized around three main programs: research, education and service.
The Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Research Program will foster and support studies of aging, ranging from the molecular genetics of longevity to community initiatives that improve quality of life for older adults.
The Center will award grants to University researchers from a wide range of disciplines for pilot studies on aging that can lead to larger grants from national agencies. It also will support aging-related programs already underway in the St. Louis community and will serve as a link between the University and these community organizations, fostering reciprocal opportunities.
“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” explains Morris. “We want to work with programs that already are geared toward the elderly population to learn how we can keep older people functioning in the community.”
One such collaborative opportunity is with the Older Adult Service and Information System (OASIS), a national, non-profit organization with University links. OASIS provides educational, health, technology and volunteer programs to 100,000 older adults in the St. Louis region, and the Center plans to investigate what skills are most needed for seniors who enroll in OASIS’ new computer training program.
The Education Program of the Center for Aging will facilitate learning opportunities for older adults and educate younger individuals about aging.
A speaker’s bureau of University faculty with expertise in aging will help promote inter-generational learning experiences that benefit both old and young. The Center also will recognize students and faculty who demonstrate excellence in educational initiatives, including summer programs for high-school students interested in experiencing laboratory research focused on aging. The Lifelong Learning Institute at University College is another established program with which the Center will partner.
One of the most visible of the Center’s service initiatives will be the annual Friedman Lecture on Aging. Dean Peck presented the inaugural lecture in May 2001. The second Friedman lecture will be held on the Hilltop Campus on April 9, 2002 and will feature John W. Rowe, M.D., co-author of the widely read book, “Successful Aging”.
Harvey Friedman attended Washington University in the early 1940s and was an instructor at University College in the 1950s. He now is a semi-retired businessman whose career has included health care, banking and real-estate development. From 1979 to 1996, he was a trustee of the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis. He currently sits on the board of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation. He was a delegate to the first White House Conference on Aging and has served as a member of the National Council on Aging of the National Institute on Aging. He also has been vice chairman of the advisory board of the Salvation Army Midland Division, chairman of the board of trustees of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, a trustee and financial vice president of the Missouri Historical Society, a trustee of Lindenwood College and a trustee of the Jewish Center for the Aged.
In 1942, Dorismae Hacker Friedman graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington University, where she was a Homecoming Queen. She has served on the board of trustees of the St. Louis Art Museum, where she was a docent for many years. Building on this interest, Harvey Friedman established the St. Louis Art Museum Annual Dorismae Friedman Docent Enrichment Program in conjunction with the James D. Burke International Award in Fine Arts. Mrs. Friedman also was corresponding secretary for the St. Louis section of the National Council of Jewish Women and for the United Order of True Sisters Miriam #17, where she also was chair of Cancer Services. She was a member of the board of the Brandeis University Women's Auxiliary of Naples, Florida.
The Friedmans have been married for 57 years. They have two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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The full-time and volunteer faculty of Washington University School of Medicine are the physicians and surgeons of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient-care institutions in the nation. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
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