UNLV's College of Liberal Arts recently named Barbara Hirshorn director of the university's new Aging Center. Her appointment became effective July 1.

"Barbara Hirshorn's extensive experience as a gerontologist will be invaluable in making the center a leading research facility on aging-related issues," said Jim Frey, dean of the College of Liberal Arts. "We are extremely delighted to have her join the college and equally as excited to see how the center will grow under her leadership."

Before arriving at UNLV, Hirshorn was director of intergenerational studies at the University of South Carolina. Previously, she was a faculty member at Wayne State University's Institute of Gerontology in Detroit and a research associate at the Gerontological Society of America in Washington, D.C.

The Aging Center was created last year to strengthen and promote research at UNLV on aging-related issues, and to coordinate the interdisciplinary research currently underway. In addition, the center will also work collaboratively with other community organizations to help formulate policy affecting seniors in the Southern Nevada community and nationwide.

Hirshorn's research has most recently focused on multi-generational relations between family members and similar age groups in the community and on maintaining the self-sufficiency and productivity of seniors. She is particularly interested in research that promotes the well-being of older residents in a community context, especially at-risk populations.

Hirshorn earned her doctoral degree in urban and regional planning in 1983 from the University of Michigan, where she was also a post-doctoral fellow at its Population Studies Center. She holds a master's degree in communications from Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.