Better With Age

An image showing a senior adult with young adults

The "Better with Age Initiative" is a comprehensive program designed to enhance education and research in the field of aging. By focusing on three key pillars—building core infrastructure, supporting interdisciplinary faculty, and ensuring student success—the initiative aims to restructure existing academic pathways, invest in student opportunities related to gerontology, and foster groundbreaking research on aging. Through scholarships, graduate assistantships, and outreach efforts, it empowers students to pursue careers in aging. Simultaneously, it provides faculty with mini-grants, conference support, and networking opportunities to advance interdisciplinary research. The initiative also prioritizes infrastructure improvements, including revamping the gerontology curriculum and strengthening organizational structures to support aging-focused endeavors.

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PSU Faculty Gerontology Education and Research Initiative (GERI) Grants

Better with Age funds PSU faculty interested in pursuing research on aging issues. Funds can be used for:

Faculty course releases and/or summer salary
Student research assistance (i.e., GAs)
Support (e.g., stipends) for community participants
Direct research

Meet the GERI grant recipients

Better with Age Wilson-Deshane Scholarship

This scholarship is intended to widen the pathway to careers in aging and support students who can bring new ideas and perspectives to the field.

Eligibility: The scholarship is open to PSU students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree or certificate specializing in gerontology or aging-related fields. Students must have been accepted into an aging-related program or track at PSU. Students must be enrolled in courses at least part-time and be in good academic standing for funds to be distributed.

*Wilson-Deshane scholarship is currently open for the 2024-2025 academic year, apply here.

If you have any questions about the scholarship, please contact betterwithage@pdx.edu.

Meet the Wilson-Deshane Aging Scholarship Recipients

2021-2022 Academic Year	2022-2023 Academic Year	2023-2024 Academic Year	2024-2025 Academic Year
Sarah Dys, PhD, Community Health	Tu Chuc, Master of Social Work (MSW)	Laren Neely, MSW, MPH	Anna Gibbons, MSW
Alicia Garrison, Gerontology certificate	Maria Garibay, MSW		Tianzhan Shu, MSW
Ian Miller, Masters of Business Administration (MBA)	Minju Kim, PhD in Urban Studies
Rowena Paz Norman, MBA	Lauren Neely, MSW, MPH
Riley Wilton, Bachelor's in Public Health	Katelin Turner, MSW
	Dawn Walter, Master of Urban and Regional Planning
	Molly Willis, MSW

Meet the Wilson-Deshane Graduate Assistants

2024-2025 Academic Year

Anna Gibbons, Graduate Administrative Assistant for Institute on Aging and the Better with Age Initiative
Tianzhan Shu, Graduate Administrative Assistant for the Better with Age Initiative and the Senior Adult Learning Center

2023-2024 Academic Year

Lauren Neely, Graduate Administrative Assistant for the Better with Age Initiative and the Senior Adult Learning Center

2022-2023 Academic Year

Lauren Neely, Graduate Administrative Assistant for the Better with Age Initiative and the Senior Adult Learning Center
MinJu Kim, Graduate Research Assistant for the Oregon Community-Based Care Study
Eiji Toda, Graduate Research Assistant for the Climate Resilience and Aging Project
Dani Himes, Graduate Administrative Assistant for the Better with Age Initiative and the Climate Resilience and Aging Project

2021-2022 Academic Year

Lindsey Smith, Graduate Research Assistant for Assisted Living Policy study
Minju Kim, GRA, Oregon Community Based Care Study
Dani Himes, Graduate Administrative Assistant (GAA) for the Better with Age Initiative and the Senior Adult Learning Center

Learn more about the team