Global and Online Interdisciplinary Aging Program Expands Leadership Team
Scott Going, PhD, from the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness (left), and Jennie Gubner, PhD, from the Fred Fox School of Music (right), are the latest UArizona faculty members to join the Innovations in Aging program’s executive leadership team.
Drs. Going and Gubner are joining an established leadership group that includes expertise from across the University of Arizona Health Sciences, including faculty from the College of Medicine – Phoenix, College of Medicine – Tucson, College of Nursing, R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. The addition of two new leadership members is part of an intentional effort to expand and diversify the team’s perspectives on aging.
“Aging itself is multidimensional. It has physical dimensions to be sure, but also cultural, artistic, social, economic and many other dimensions,” said Linda Phillips, RN, PhD, FAAN, FGSA, interim program chair for Innovations in Aging and senior director of research and education at the University of Arizona Center on Aging.
Dr. Going, director of the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is an expert in models and methods for the assessment of changes in body composition with aging. He currently investigates the effects of chronic exercise and nutrition on bone, soft tissue composition and functional capacity in middle-aged and older women and men.
“I am pleased to contribute to the Innovations in Aging graduate interdisciplinary program, which addresses a critical need and brings exciting new opportunities to students. Healthy eating and physical activity are vital to health and wellness at any age, and I am glad to represent these areas,” said Dr. Going.
Dr. Gubner, assistant professor of music in the College of Fine Arts and chair of the Applied Intercultural Arts Research Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, is a socially engaged interdisciplinary scholar, violinist, and visual ethnographer. Her research interests in aging include applied approaches to the study of music and dementia and creative aging.
“I am delighted to have been invited to join the Innovations in Aging graduate interdisciplinary program,” said Dr. Gubner. “In my research and teaching, I am committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and connections that can bring arts perspectives into conversations about how to train future healthcare professionals, build age-friendly and intergenerational communities, and address intercultural issues affecting the health and wellness of older adults.”
Dr. Gubner co-teaches an Innovations in Aging graduate certificate course called Arts and Community Health: Intercultural Perspectives and Applications in Aging. She was also featured in a recent episode of the Innovations in Aging Podcast.
The Innovations in Aging leadership team will continue to grow over time to incorporate more faculty members from across the university, especially as plans for a potential master’s program come into focus, Dr. Phillips confirmed. “The more diversity we have on the executive leadership committee, the better we can help students understand the complexities involved in the aging process.”
To learn more about the University of Arizona’s 13-credit, fully online Innovations in Aging graduate certificate program available for enrollment by students around the world, visit innovationsinaging.uahs.arizona.edu.