History

In the 1970's, faculty in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work had a vision for an academic program in Gerontology. In 1975 the Kansas Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Center on Aging at K-State.

The secondary major in gerontology and the long term care administration programs were approved and established as undergraduate programs in 1981 and 1984 respectively. The online Masters in Gerontology began accepting students in the fall semester of 2003. In 2005 the online Graduate Certificate in Gerontology was established.

Because of its interdisciplinary educational programs, the Center on Aging was administratively positioned under the graduate school in its early years. In 1992 the governance of the Center on Aging was transferred from the Graduate School to a Board of Deans which included Architecture, Arts & Sciences, and Human Ecology. The governance of the Center on Aging was transferred permanently to the College of Human Ecology in 2002 (now the College of Health and Human Sciences).

Director History:

1975-1976 -- Dr. Richard L.D. Morse

1977-1991 -- George Peters

1992-2003 -- Dr. Lyn Norris-Baker

2004-2007 -- Dr. Gayle Doll (Interim)

2008-2021 -- Dr. Gayle Doll

2021-2023 -- Dr. Erin Yelland (Interim)

2023- present -- Laci Cornelison (Interim)