hey may not be physical buildings, but students and faculty will reap the benefits of two proposed additions to the Hill.
The Center for Lifespan Development and the The Center for Gerontology are two new centers approved by a Board of Regents committee Friday.
The centers will have to be approved by the full Board at an April 29 meeting.
The Center for Lifespan Development comprises a group of researchers in the psychology department, and the Center for Gerontology (the study of aging) operates within the dean’s office of the College of Health and Human Services.
The proposal for the Center for Lifespan Development was put forward about two years ago, said Steven Haggbloom, psychology department head.
The research, however, was already in place, he said. The development center will help coordinate the research, and faculty who study development-related issues in other departments can become affiliated with the center.
Psychology Professor Sharon Mutter studies cognitive aging in the development center. She said she thought the development center was useful to pull people together with the common interest across campus.
There are almost a dozen faculty in the development center now, he said.
Haggbloom said he thought the development center will show that Western is strong in that area. It could also attract donors and grants.
Psychology Associate Professor Kelly Madole studies infant cognition and children’s understanding of social categories in the development center.
“Outside places might see it as a statement of Western’s interest and expertise in the area of lifespan development,” she said.
Mutter said she feels the center will bring attention to the research as well.
“I think it increases the visibility of the work, the really good work going on here,” she said.
The research done at the center could help communities outside of Western, such as Psychology Professor Dan Roenker’s research on older adults’ driving skills.
Roenker said he is working on developing a quick test to determine which older adults will become at risk for car accidents.
Susan Wesley, the coordinator for the gerontology program, said the gerontology center will help continue research on campus and build links with other campuses and communities.
She said an example of research being done in the gerontology center is health advancement of the rural elderly. It helps older adults in surrounding counties use the healthcare system.
But Wesley said the gerontology center can help people on campus because society is becoming older overall.
“I think it has the potential to help each discipline, each faculty member, each student,” she said.
Provost Barbara Burch also said the programs deserve greater attention because of the aging population. She said the centers will build on the good work the gerontology and psychology programs have done.
Reach Kelly Richardson at news@wkuherald.com.
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