The Gerontological Society of America has named Nancy R. Hooyman, University of Washington School of Social Work professor emerita and dean emerita, the 2022 recipient of the Donald P. Kent Award. This distinguished honor is given annually to a GSA member who best exemplifies the highest standards for professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service and interpretation of gerontology to the larger society.
“I am deeply appreciative of the UW colleagues who nominated me,” says Hooyman. “This unexpected award is the greatest honor of my 45-year career, which I accept with deep gratitude, humility and joy.”
Hooyman was the recipient of the School of Social Work’s first endowed professorship in gerontology, the Nancy R. Hooyman Professorship. She also served as the School’s dean and director of its PhD program in social welfare.
“Nancy’s contributions to the field of aging are innumerable, including recent research on policy changes that will create greater equity for unpaid family caregivers and underpaid homecare workers,” says Eddie Uehara, professor and Ballmer Endowed Dean in Social Work at the UW School of Social Work. “I am thrilled to see her receive this well-deserved honor that celebrates her research, writing and life-long dedication to teaching social work students.”
Hooyman was co-principal investigator of the Council on Social Work Education National Center on Gerontological Social Work Education, funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, where she provided national leadership in developing innovative social work curricula in gerontology. She also has received grants from the New York Community Trust Foundation and the RRF Foundation for Aging related to workforce development in the Aging and Disability Network.
Her forthcoming co-authored book on care labor articulates the intersection of race, gender and citizenship inequities faced by family caregivers and direct-care workers and makes recommendations for policy transformation.
Hooyman is the author of 12 books and more than 130 articles, book chapters, and monographs related to gerontology and women’s issues. She is a frequent presenter on multigenerational policy and practice, gender inequities in family caregiving, feminist gerontology, loss and grief, person-centered care and gerontological curricular change. Her co-authored books include a widely used text, Aging Matters: An Introduction to Social Gerontology, Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective (10 editions), Living through Loss: Interventions across the Lifespan (two editions), Transforming Social Work Education: The First Decade of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative, Feminist Perspectives on Family Care: Policies toward Gender Justice, and Taking Care of Older Relatives(two editions), one of the first widely used books on family caregiving.
Hooyman is a GSA fellow and previously served as chair of GSA’s Social Research, Policy, and Practice Section. She is the recipient of the 2009 CSWE Lifetime Achievement Award in Social Work Education and was inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare in 2011. She is a past president of the Society for Social Work and Research; past president of the National Association of Deans and Directors of Social Work; past board member of the National Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research; and past chairperson of the Action Network for Social Work Education and Research. She twice received the Lewayne Gilchrist mentor award from School of Social Work.
The award presentation will take place at the GSA 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting, held Nov. 2–6 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The award was established in 1973 in memory of Donald P. Kent, PhD, for his outstanding leadership in translating research findings into practical use.