Barbara Hawkins

Director and Professor
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 1733

In June 2000, Professor Hawkins coordinated the start of a multi-country collaborative project, the Global Ageing Initiative ("ageing" is the international spelling form of the word), which during its Third Working Conference in Ancona, Italy, changed its name to the Global Ageing Research Network (GARNet). This collaborative network of researchers will complete Phase One of pioneering research to develop an index for "ageing well" with an accompanying measurement model. A multi-nation study on ageing well and adult well-being is producing important evidence and information to guide policy reviews and developments to support ageing well systems, communities, and personal behaviors.

During 2003-04, the development of a direct observation system to assess environmental design and measure level of physical activity by older adults - Systematic Observation of Older Adult Physical Activity (SOAPA) was undertaken in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association. SOAPA coupled with additional established instruments will provide the basis for national baseline and tracking data on outcomes associated with physically active lifestyles and positive health outcomes among older adults who are engaged in community recreation and park programs and facilities. This system will serve as a "gold standard" measurement procedure for evaluating quality practices in a wide range of community recreation and senior use environments.

In partnership with Dr. Lesa Lorenzen Huber, Professor Hawkins is involved in a three year project, GET LINKS, funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE), US Department of Education. GET LINKS has enabled Indiana University - Center on Aging and Aged faculty to develop and implement of a series of distance education modules in basic and applied gerontology for students and professionals involved in the care and service of the rapidly growing older adult population. These Web, CD-ROM, and audio-visual media supported modules are designed to improve and assess competency through integrating interactive learning activities (i.e., case studies, instructor participation in model sites, and collaborative learning communities to enhance motivation and completion) with a thorough assessment of learner needs and outcomes.

During her leisure time Barbara likes to spend time with her family, snow ski (she is a Certified Professional Ski Instructor on the Ski School staff at Ski Paoli Peaks), garden, bicycle, exercise, sailboard, read, and take walks with her dog Lucky.

Lesa Huber

Gerontology Curriculum Coordinator
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 0816

Dr. Lesa Lorenzen Huber teaches courses in the areas of lifespan development and gerontology. She received the 1999 and 2000 TERA award for teaching excellence, the 2003 Part-Time Faculty recognition award from the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, and a 2003 nomination for the Teaching in a Distance Learning Class from the Indiana Partnership for Statewide Education. She was funded by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education to develop a model to incorporate service-learning into her web-based class on aging and by the Office of the Vice President for Instructional Technologies to evaluate the effectiveness of online pedagogies. She is Co-Principal Investigator of a US Dept. of Education three-year grant, GET LINKS, to develop and implement a full gerontology curriculum online. During 2004, GET LINKS has a partnership with the University of Iowa in course development and delivery. Dr. Huber is also a certified personal trainer and enjoys leading exercise classes with older adults in Bloomington retirement communities.

Dr. Sue Myllykangas

Gerontology Lecturer
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855-8186

Dr. Myllykangas is a Post Doctoral Fellow with the Center on Aging and Aged in partnership with the Department of Recreation and Park Administration in the School of HPER. In 2000, she received her master's degree in gerontology management/administration from the University of Northern Colorado. During the summer of 2004, Sue completed her Ph.D. with a major in leisure behavior and a minor in gerontology from Indiana University. Sue has a passion to teach university students how to work with older adults using leisure as a modality. She started her journey at IU teaching several classes and working on designing eight aging courses that are taught online. Her dissertation research is entitled: AIDS as a Terminal Illness: Meaning of Leisure for Older Adult Females and Caregivers. Amazingly, there are over 90,000 older adults living with AIDS in the United States. Little research has been conducted on older adults with AIDS. Sue enjoys Indiana University football and basketball, as well as going to the movies and unusual museums with friends.

Dr. Alice Foose Grisanti

Research Associate
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 8156

Dr. Foose earned her Ph.D. in leisure behavior from Indiana University in 2004. Alice currently coordinates the USA research component of the Global Ageing Research Network (formerly the Global Ageing Initiative). Her dissertation investigated the relationship of social networks and life activity with perceived well-being among older persons in the USA. Alice enjoys gardening, home restoration, contra-dancing, and sipping on "really good" coffee.

Rev. Julie Hill

Outreach and Intergenerational Coordinator
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855-7510

Julie Hill is working on a master’s degree in the Department of Recreation and Park Administration. In May 2005 she was ordained as a Shamanic Minister specializing in developing programs that focus the process of self discovery and self expression. In May of 2005 Julie launched PARTNERS: a Creative Arts Program for People with Memory Loss sponsored by the First United Church in Bloomington Indiana. This adapted arts program was designed specifically for people in early stages of dementia. Participants are matched with volunteers and together they experience the joy of creativity while building a legacy of creative work to leave for family and friends. Her research interest is in the application of the medicine wheel concept to frame issues of health and well-being within communities.

Keema Walden

Associate Instructor and Research Associate
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 8156

Keema Walden is a doctoral student in leisure behavior at Indiana University. She also is earning a minor in health promotion and is taking cognate courses in religious studies. Her interests include complementary and alternative medicine and its integration into resorts and spas. Keema's research interests are directed toward understanding leisure as a dimension of health. She has a certification in Swedish massage with a touch of sports massage, and is a Reiki practitioner. She has taught courses in yoga, research and evaluation, exercise physiology labs, exercise testing and prescription labs, and numerous physical activity skills. Keema recently facilitated two online courses: R366/R566 Therapeutic Interventions with the Elderly and H324/H524 Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Gerontology. Keema is looking forward to being involved in the teaching of more online courses. She enjoys spending time with her new husband Baron.

Jacquie Hawkins

Research Assistant and Training Coordinator
Smith Research Center 197
(603) 731 3836

Jacquie is a research assistant with the USA aging well/adult well-being project. She provides leadership in creating training manuals, networking with research contacts, and compiling field data. Jacquie is a Reiki practitioner and has many years experience working in the health care industry. She loves to bike, kayak, snow ski, and hike with her husband Jim and golden retriever Jackson. Jacquie lives in New Hampshire in the summer and in Colorado in the winter..

Priscilla Poortinga

Research Assistant and Data Coordinator
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 0815

Priscilla is a fifth-year senior undergraduate student at Indiana University. She is working towards earning her Bachelor or Arts degree in psychology with a double minor in dance and gender studies. She coordinates the USA aging well data base and also assists with data collection. In addition to this, she has helped to develop multiple coding systems, and the USA ageing well training protocol.In her free time she enjoys snow skiing, dancing, camping, and hiking.

Beth Buhrt

Research Assistant and Data Coordinator
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 0815

Beth is a senior undergraduate student at Indiana University working on a bachelor's degree in sociology. Currently at the center, Beth is working on the aging well study and the NRPA SOAPA project, specifically on interviewing subjects, data coding and data entry. Beth enjoys camping, exercising, and hanging out with her friends.

Rachel Purtlebaugh

Research Assistant and Data Coordinator
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 0815

Rachel is an undergraduate here at IU. She has helped with various projects here at the Center. Currently she is involved in interviews and data collections for the USA Ageing Well Database.

Garrett Poortinga

Technical Associate
Smith Research Center 197
(812) 855 0815

Garrett is pursuing his undergraduate degree at Indiana University. He graduated from Bloomington High School North with an Academic Honors Diploma. At present, he is considering majoring in telecommunications and fine arts or the independent major’s program. Here at the center, he works on maintaining the website, as well as other websites his co-workers are involved with including online courses. In addition this, he works on graphic design, video recording and production, and any other computer related tasks.

Above all, Garrett loves cinema. He has created many short videos with friends, and during his senior year, a 10 minute story on he produced on his high school's bands was aired on BCAT, a local broadcast channel. Along with video production, he enjoys photography, mountain biking, hiking, hacky sacking, fishing, creating music on the computer, and beat boxing. Garrett lives for snowboarding, and the mountains.