Michael Caserta, Ph.D.
Dale Lund, Ph.D.
Scott Wright, Ph.D.
Mirela Milas - Administrative Assistant (581-8198) Room 591 College of Nursing
Main Office
801-581-8198
gerontology@hsc.utah.edu
Central phone: 801-581-8198
Central fax: 801-581-4642
CENTER ON AGING
Executive Director - Dr. Mark Supiano
ADJUNCT FACULTY EMAIL ADDRESSES
Dwight Adams, M.S., Adjunct Instructor
Kathy Bell, Ph.D., Adjunct Instructor
Mark Bergstrom, Ph.D. Adjunct Associate Professor
Denise Brooks, B.A., Adjunct Instructor
Rebecca Burrage, R.N., M.S., Adjunct Instructor
Anna Dresel, B.A., Adjunct Instructor
Jacqueline Eaton, M.S., Adjunct Instructor
Lynn Engerberson, M.S., Adjunct Instructor
Nanci McCleskey, R.N., M.C.G., M.Div., Adjunct Instructor
Ginny Pepper, Ph.D. R.N. Professor
Anne Peterson, M.B.A., Adjunct Instructor
Sarah Jane Obray, M.S., Adjunct Instructor
Bruce Rigby, M.S., Adjunct Instructor
Lesele H. Rose, M.S. Adjunct Instructor
Shirley Rossa, M.S.W., Adjunct Instructor
Sonia Salari, Ph.D., Adjunct Associate Professor
Yvonne Sehy, R.N. Ph.D., FNP/GNP
Sara Sinclair, B.S., R.N., Adjunct Instructor
Rebecca Utz, Ph.D., Adjunct Assistant Professor
Jo Anne Wright, Ph.D., Adjunct Associate Professor (Clinical)
Sonnie Yudell, B.S., Adjunct Instructor
Michael S. Caserta, Ph.D.
Practicum Coordinator
587 College of Nursing
801-581-3572
michael.caserta@nurs.utah.edu
Michael Caserta, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the University
of Utah Center of Aging. He teaches courses in research
design and health promotion and coordinates the student practicum
experiences for the Gerontology program. In addition to his
teaching and scholarship activities, he is active in several
professional organizations including the Gerontological Society
of America (where he co-convened an interest group on death,
dying, bereavement and widowhood), the American Society on
Aging, Association for Death Education and Counseling, and
the American Association for Health Education. He also is
a founding member of the Utah Gerontological Society, serving
as its president in 2000.
Dr. Caserta has co-authored numerous journal articles and
book chapters in the areas of spousal bereavement, family
caregiving, and health promotion and self-care. He and his
colleagues have conducted projects examining the effectiveness
of self-help groups for bereaved older adults, exercise interventions
for sedentary overweight older women, and the development
of Video Respite TM, an innovative resource for Alzheimer's
caregivers. His recent work involves the development
of the Pathfinders Program (funded by the Ben B. and Iris
M. Margolis Foundation), that focuses on ways to improve the
self-care practices of older widows and widowers. Pathfinders
received Honorable Mention from the Archstone Foundation Award
for Excellence in Program Innovation, sponsored by the Gerontological
Health Section of the American Public Health Association,
2000. Dr. Caserta is currently principal investigator on a 5-year study (funded by the National Insitutute on Aging) that is testing a bereavement intervention based on Stoebe and Schut's (1999) dual process model. Dr. Caserta also received the College of Nursing Excellence
in Research Award in 1998. In addition to his own work, he
regularly reviews manuscripts for professional scientific
journals and sits on five editorial boards.
Dale A. Lund,
Ph.D.
585 College of Nursing
801-581-8199
dale.lund@nurs.utah.edu
Dr. Lund is a professor of gerontology and sociology at the
University of Utah and was the director of the university-wide
Center on Aging from 1988-2002. He earned his Ph.D.
from the University of Utah in 1979 and has been on the faculty
at the College of Nursing since 1980. He also has been a faculty
member at North Dakota State University and Valdosta State
College in Georgia. Under Dr. Lund's directorship, the gerontology
center developed a Master's Degree Program in Gerontology
(1993) becoming only the second MS Program in an 8 state region.
Dr Lund is internationally known for his research and scholarship
related to coping with difficult life transitions in later
life, particularly family caregiving and spousal bereavement.
He is a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying
and Bereavement, founder of the Death, Dying & Bereavement
Interest Group within the Gerontological Society of America,
member of the American Society on Aging and past president
of the Utah Gerontological Society. He has been the recipient
of numerous teaching, scholarship and community service awards
including the Utah Hospice Person of the Year (1988), Outstanding
Researcher from the international Association for Death Education
and counseling (1996), the Charles Redd Prize from the Utah
Academy of Sciences, Art and Letters (1998) and the Pioneer
Award from the Utah Gerontological Society (2000). He also
has been actively involved in community service having served
for 6 years on the Utah Alzheimer's Association Board including
president for 2 years and on the boards of the Utah Cancer
Society, Utah Gerontological Society (past President), Community
Nursing Services and the Sarah Daft Home.
Dr. Lund has authored or co-authored over 80 journal articles
and book chapters and edited two books primarily in the areas
of family caregiving and respite services, bereavement and
grief, and later life transitions. His two books include Older
Bereaved Spouses (Hemisphere/Taylor & Francis, 1989) and
Men Coping with Grief (Baywood, 2000). He has made invited
presentations throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Norway and
Netherlands. His research has been funded by the National
Institute on Aging, Administration on Aging, Bureau of Health
Professions, National Alzheimer's Association, National Center
for Nursing Research, Life Care Foundation of America, Margolis
Foundation and the University of Utah. His research and scholarship
has helped to dispel many myths about the bereavement process,
develop practical interventions for bereaved persons and clarify
the role of gender in grief experiences. Dr. Lund and his
faculty colleagues invented and developed Video RespiteT, a
series of videotapes designed to stimulate cognitive functioning
of persons with Alzheimer's Disease and help family and professional
caregivers to have convenient opportunities for respite. Video
RespiteT tapes are now being used throughout the US and Canada.
Lund, D., Wright, S., Caserta, M. & Utz, Rebecca. (2006). Respite Services: Enhancing
the Quality of Daily Life for Caregivers and Care Receivers. University of Utah Printing. Contact the Center
(801-581-8198) or
gerontology@nurs.utah.edu
to receive a free high-quality print copy.
Scott D. Wright,
Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Director
583 College of Nursing
801-585-9542
scott.wright@hsc..utah.edu
Scott D. Wright, Ph.D., has educational training in human development
and gerontology. His area of emphasis is in adult
development and aging, and environment & aging issues
(retirement "hot spots" in the United States, particularly
the intermountain west). At the University of Utah, he teaches
several gerontology courses with an emphasis on online education.
He has recently developed a complete web-based curriculum,
which will count toward a certificate in gerontology at the
University of Utah, He is a member of the Gerontological Society
of America and the Utah Gerontological Society (UGS). He has
served as President of the Society for Human Ecology and served
as Editor of the journal Human Ecology Review.
Dr. Wright's area of research expertise is in investigating
and understanding the retirement migration patterns of older
adults and the subsequent economic and environmental impact
of local communities (also known as retirement "hot spots").
His focus is primarily on retirement hot spots in the intermountain
west (or the "New West") and is currently conducting
research on environmental attitudes and awareness of retirees
in terms of residency status (e.g., native, long-term resident,
short-term,
newly arrived, seasonal). He is also investigating the input
of environmental hazards & the health & well-being
of older adults. Dr. Wright is working with the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) & their "aging initiative."
In summary, he has an interest in "Gray and Green"
issues.
Main Office
801-581-8198
gerontology@hsc.utah.edu
Central phone: 801-581-8198
Central FAX: 801-581-4642
