Hooyman Earns GSA’s 2022 Donald P. Kent Award

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) — the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging — has chosen Nancy R. Hooyman, MSW, PhD, FGSA, of the University of Washington as the 2022 recipient of the Donald P. Kent Award.

This distinguished honor is given annually to a GSA member who best exemplifies the highest standards for professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service, and interpretation of gerontology to the larger society. It was established in 1973 in memory of Donald P. Kent, PhD, for his outstanding leadership in translating research findings into practical use.

The award presentation will take place at GSA’s 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting, which will be held from November 2 to 6 in Indianapolis, Indiana. This conference is organized to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers, educators, and practitioners who specialize in the study of the aging process.

Hooyman is dean emeritus at the University of Washington School of Social Work and the recipient of the School’s first endowed professorship in gerontology, the Nancy R. Hooyman Professorship. She was also the director of the school’s PhD program in social welfare and the lead instructor for the university’s Certificate Program in Gerontology.

She was co-principal investigator of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) National Center on Gerontological Social Work Education, funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, where she provided national leadership on infusing gerontological competencies in social work curricula. She also has received grants from the New York Community Trust Foundation and the RRF Foundation for Aging related to workforce development in the Aging and Disability Network.

Her current scholarship addresses care justice for home care workers and family caregivers. A forthcoming book on care labor with Kezia Scales, PhD, from PHI articulates an intersectional perspective on racial, gender, and citizenship inequities faced by individuals engaged in the work of care and recommendations for policy transformation grounded in a care justice framework.

Hooyman is the author of 12 books and over 130 peer review articles and book chapters related to gerontology and women’s issues, and is a frequent presenter on multigenerational policy and practice, gender inequities in family caregiving, feminist gerontology, loss and grief, person-centered care and gerontological curricular change. Her co-authored books include a widely used text, “Aging Matters: An Introduction to Social Gerontology,” “Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective,” “Living through Loss: Interventions across the Lifespan,” “Transforming Social Work Education: The First Decade of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative,” “Feminist Perspectives on Family Care: Policies toward Gender Justice,” and “Taking Care of Older Relatives,” one of the first widely used books on family caregiving.

Hooyman is a GSA fellow, which represents the highest category of membership within the Society, and previously served as chair of GSA’s Social Research, Policy, and Practice Section. She is the recipient of the 2009 CSWE Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Work Education, and was inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare in 2011, where she chaired the national mentoring committee. She is a past president of the Society for Social Work and Research; past president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Social Work; past board member of the National Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research; and past chairperson of the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research. She has served on the Advisory Boards for all the Hartford Foundation Geriatric Initiatives and for three years, chaired the University of Washington Elder-Friendly Futures conference. In Seattle, she chairs the Community Life Foundation for Sustainable Housing for Ageless Generations, which offers moderate income housing for older adults, and is president of the board of Wider Horizons, a central Seattle village initiative.

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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure also includes a policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society.