BAC/Toyota Visiting Geriatric Scholar Program

Participating in the BAC/Toyota ceremony were, from left: U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Mike Goss of Toyota Motor Manufacturing N.A., Lenard W. Kaye of the UMaine Center on Aging, and Tomoya Toriumi and Albert Allen of Brewer Automotive Components

The UMaine Center on Aging's BAC/Toyota Visiting Geriatric Scholar Program is made possible through the generosity of Brewer Automotive Components (BAC) and Toyota Corporation.

The Community Connection is a philanthropy program aimed at supporting nonprofit organizations in cities where Toyota and its suppliers do business. Now in its fifth year, the program has contributed well over half a million dollars to nonprofits in Toyota supplier cities around the country.

While in residence, the visiting scholars consult with students and other professionals, as well as deliver lectures and conduct research related to aging.

Spring 2004 Visiting Scholar

Distinguished Lecture:
"Family Caregivers: A Critical Resource in Today's Healthcare Climate"
May, 2004

Carol Farran, DNSc, CoA's BAC/Toyota Visiting Geriatric Scholar

Carol Farran, professor of nursing at Rush University/Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, was the Spring 2004 BAC/Toyota Visiting Geriatric Scholar.

Dr. Farran, an expert on the mental and physical effects of caring for the elderly person with Alzheimer's disease or dementia, will be in residence at the University May 11-13, 2004. She presented the Distinguished Lecture "Family Caregivers: A Critical Resource in Today's Healthcare Climate" on May 11, at 6:30pm. All were welcome free of charge.

Dr. Carol J. Farran was appointed as the inaugural holder of The Rush University Nurses Alumni Association Chair in Health and the Aging Process in June 1998. She earned her undergraduate degree in nursing from Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana; a master's degree in Community Health Nursing from Northern Illinois University; and her doctorate in nursing science from Rush University.

As a nationally recognized researcher, Dr. Farran's scientific focus has been on interventions that improve the mental and physical health of family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease. She is particularly interested in understanding how families do well under difficult circumstances, and how they find meaning through this experience.

Previous Visiting Scholars

Winter 2004

Distinguished Lecture:
"Grandmothers, Longevity, and Human Evolution"
February, 2004

Dr. Kristen Hawkes, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Utah , was at the University of Maine to present a distinguished lecture titled "Grandmothers, Longevity, and Human Evolution." The event was cosponsored by the UMaine Center on Aging, the University of Maine Department of Anthropology, and Women in the Curriculum and Women's Studies.

Dr. Hawkes is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and pursues research on the origins and function of female menopause and the human lifespan, which are so different from that of other primates with whom we are closely related. Her research has focused on examining the benefits of grandmaternal attention for a woman's ability to bear and care for her children, particularly her first, and has focused primarily on grandmothering among African hunter-gatherers, the Hadza, in an attempt to understand why humans as a species would exhibit such a unique lifespan and female reproductive pattern.

Fall 2003

Distinguished Lecture:
"Aging and the Senses: Is Vision on Your Radar Screen?"
October, 2003

Amy Horowitz, DSW

Dr. Horowitz joined Lighthouse International 1984 and is currently the Senior Vice President for Research and Evaluation and Director of the Arlene R. Gordon Research Institute. Dr. Horowitz serves on the editorial boards of The Gerontologist and The Journal of Gerontological Social Work . She is a Past President of the State Society on Aging of New York, a Past Chair of the Research Committee of the American Society on Aging, and a Past Chair of the Social Research, Practice and Policy Section of the Gerontological Society of America. Dr. Horowitz also serves on the Advisory Board of the Hartford Foundation Social Work Scholars Initiative in Gerontology. She has published widely in the areas of family caregiving, disability, sensory loss and mental health.

Cynthia Stuen, DSW

Cynthia Stuen is Senior Vice President for Education and Director of the Center for Education of Lighthouse International. Currently she chairs the Network on Environments, Services, and Technology of the American Society on Aging and was recently appointed chair of the Aging Section Steering Committee of the National Association of Social Workers. A fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and a frequent reviewer of articles for The Gerontologist, the Journal of Aging and Health, and Physical and Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics Journal, Dr. Stuen also serves on numerous national and international committees and advisory boards.

SUMMER 2003

Distinguished Lecture:
"Been There, Done That: Lessons Learned Raising Grandchildren"
July 2003
Professional Development & Field Education Lecture Series, School of Social Work
Helen Militiades, Barbara Kates, Sandy Butler, and Lenard Kaye, co-presenters.

Dr. Helen Miltiades, CoA's first BAC/Toyota Visiting Geriatric Scholar and her pet therapy dog, Kobi

Helen Militiades, Ph.D.

The first of this year’s three visiting scholars was Dr. Helen Miltiades. Dr. Miltiades received her Ph.D. in gerontology from UMass Boston, and she is a faculty member at Shippensburg University. She directs the Hartford Foundation’s Gero-Rich Curriculum Infusion Project at Shippensburg. Her research interests are in the areas of health care utilization and access to care, including long-term-care staffing and rural parish nursing. She was on campus this summer with her pet-assisted therapy dog, Kobi.