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Scripps Gerontology Center: Aging Well By President Greg Crawford “Sweetie.” That single word, whispered by Cora to
Elizabeth “Like” Lokon, became the impetus for one of our Scripps Gerontology Center’s most significant programs, Opening Minds through Art (OMA). Before she founded OMA in 2007, Like (pronounced Leeka) was a master’s student in Miami’s gerontological studies program. During that time, she regularly visited an Oxford nursing home to meet with Cora, a woman in her 80s with advanced dementia who couldn’t talk, walk, or eat on her own. “What Cora could do is hold a paint brush and move it ever so slowly to blend colors and create new colors,” explained Like, who has since earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate from Miami. “I’ll never forget when one day, I was kneeling next to her wheelchair, talking to her about a painting, when she slowly raised her hand and touched my head. I stopped talking. “Then, out of the blue, she whispered, The OMA story is ‘Sweetie.’ It was the first time she had spoespecially powerful ken in years. The nursing home staff was stunned. I knew something really special as it ties back to just happened.” everything Scripps Inspired by Cora’s coming out of her silence to declare her friendship, Like is about — making wanted to share Cora’s gift with others. It a positive difference was at that moment that OMA was born. Since then, nearly 2,600 of our students in the lives of have participated in this intergenerational aging individuals, art program, directed by Like, which pairs them with older adults and successfully their families, and builds bridges across age and cognitive communities. barriers. The OMA story is an especially powerful one because it ties back to everything that the Scripps Gerontology Center is about — making a positive difference in the lives of aging individuals, their families, and communities. Founded in 1922 by Cincinnati newspaper magnate E.W. Scripps to conduct research in population
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problems, our center has a rich history and has become one of the leading voices in gerontology and demography. In 2011, it was named an Ohio Center of Excellence because of the support its staff, faculty associates, students, and alumni provide through stellar research, education, and service. As we celebrate its first 100 years this September, we also look toward its next century and how it can continue to help society. Suzanne Kunkel MA ’79, its director since 1998, believes reframing the way we approach aging is a key aspect of both the center’s foundation and its future. I sat in on a teaching session where Suzanne explained reframing by discussing unintentional ageism such as when we use the word elderly. Suzanne, who appreciates that we intend no disrespect, looked around the small group and asked, “What does it mean to be elderly? When You are invited to write to do you decide someone is President Greg Crawford elderly? Age 65 or 110? The at president@MiamiOH.edu. Follow him on Twitter word conveys frailty and @MiamiOHPres. is too vague. If you want to talk about people who have losses and declines and need assistance, that’s what we say, not the elderly or the seniors. We used to say demented people. Now we say people living with Alzheimer’s. They are not the disease.” This is what OMA’s students are discovering as they sit side by side with their older partners, getting to know each other as they collaborate on their weekly paintings. During Scripps’ 100th birthday, Miami University recognizes all that the center has accomplished and is thankful for the many gifts it has provided us and so many others. We look forward to its next 100 years.