UNLV will be home to a newly created Aging Center -- an entity designed to study issues related to aging and to help formulate public policy -- beginning this fall.

Approved by the Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada at its December meeting, the center is expected to open its doors at the start of fall semester 2001. It will be part of UNLV's College of Liberal Arts.

"For quite some time, many of us at the university have seen a growing need for a center dedicated to the study of the numerous issues surrounding aging," said Jim Frey, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. "With the rapid growth in the over-55 population across the nation and in Southern Nevada in particular, it was becoming increasingly clear that the time had come to make such a center a reality.

"Now that we have secured the approval of the regents, we have begun searching for a director to lead the center," he said.

"One of the strengths of the center will be its emphasis on interdisciplinary research and activities," Frey said. "Already we have many faculty members across campus who are conducting research and publishing findings on various aspects of aging. Having a center to help coordinate that research will foster collaborative efforts between faculty members and departments that might not otherwise realize the similarity of their interests."

Faculty members who already have expressed an interest in affiliating with the center include professors from the areas of anthropology, counseling, educational psychology, hotel management, leisure studies, nursing, physical therapy, psychology, public administration, social work, sociology, and theatre.

The new center also will benefit students as there will be opportunities for qualified students to work as research assistants, he said.

"As one of our first projects, we hope to do a demographic survey of seniors living in Southern Nevada," Frey said. "We want to explore such things as health issues, leisure issues, work patterns, and income levels. Many myths exist about seniors; we want to find out what is true and what isn't."

In addition to promoting research, the center will be involved in helping to develop public policy on aging-related issues, he said. The Southern Nevada community will benefit from the center not only through the studies that will be done, but also via the community outreach programs the center will sponsor, according to Frey.

For additional information on the Aging Center, call the College of Liberal Arts at 895-3401.