Kenneth Ferraro
Please join me in congratulating Kenneth Ferraro, distinguished professor of sociology and director of the Center on Aging and the Life Course, for winning the 2018 Lu Ann Aday Award.
One of the university’s top three research honors, the annual award recognizes a member of the Purdue faculty who has made an impact on their field in the humanities and social sciences. It comes with a cash prize and grant for university scholarly activities. It was established by CLA alumna Lu Ann Aday, the Lorne D. Bain Distinguished Professor Emerita in Public Health and Medicine at the University of Texas School of Public Health.
Ken is being recognized for his innovative work and contributions in sociology and gerontology. He has conducted groundbreaking research showing that misfortunes during childhood and adolescence increase the risk of disease onset in later life. He has also theorized how social stratification unfolds across the life course. His cumulative inequality theory describes how life chances and choices can be affected by developmental and demographic processes. Additionally, Ken’s book, The Gerontological Imagination: An Integrative Paradigm of Aging (Oxford University Press, 2018), provides an integrative interdisciplinary approach to the study of aging. It is the only book of its kind to enumerate integrative axioms about gerontology.
A Purdue faculty member since 1990, Ken is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. He has published more than 110 peer-reviewed articles, 19 book chapters, and two books.
Ken will present the Lu Ann Aday Distinguished Lecture on Oct. 29 at Fowler Hall. The 10:30 a.m. lecture will be free and open to the public.
Congratulations, Professor Ferraro!
David A. Reingold
Justin S. Morrill Dean
College of Liberal Arts