Faculty are drawn from various departments within UMKC, as well as from professionals within the greater Kansas City area. We are fortunate to have a group of instructors so highly qualified and experienced in the field of aging.

AKINS, TOM, Instructor, President, AgeSpeak (a speaking and training service on topics of aging)
B.S., Psychology & Sociology (Northwest Missouri State University);
M.S. Social Gerontology (Central Missouri State University);
Areas of Interest or Research: business, public speaking

Courses Taught:
Sociology 300/580: Future Implications - Aging and the Baby Boom Generation
Sociology 300/580: Aging Across Generations
Sociology 300/580: Dynamics of an Aging Workforce
Sociology 300/580: Corporate Policies and Aging
Sociology 300/580:  Baby Boomers - Apex of Marketplace or Passe'

BANE, SHARE DECROIX, Faculty, Social Work Program, Assistant Research Professor, Licensed Professional Counselor
B.A. Sociology (University of Missouri-Columbia)
M.Ed., Counseling Psychology (University of Missouri-Columbia)
PhD., Counseling Psychology (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
Areas of Interest or Research: mental health, mid-life and late life personal development, resilience in later life, caregiving, volunteerism, rural service delivery, women's issues,

Courses taught:
Psychology 450/580: Counseling the Older Adult
Psychology 441/543: Adult Development and Aging
Psychology 440/540: The Psychology of Aging
Sociology 300/580: Volunteerism and Aging
Sociology 300/580: Images of Aging in Literature and Film
Psychology 300/580: Psychology of the Aging Family
 

BREYTSPRAAK, LINDA, Associate Professor of Sociology and Medicine; Director, Center on Aging Studies
B.A., Sociology (Colorado College)
M.A., PhD., Sociology (Duke University
Post-doctoral Fellow, Mental Health and Aging (Duke University Medical Center)
Areas of Interest or Research: development of self, death and dying; human development throughout the life cycle

Courses taught:
Arts & Sciences 500: Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Aging
Arts & Sciences 400/592: Field Practicum Experience in Aging
Sociology 316/560: The Sociology of Death and Dying
Sociology 300/580: Aging and Developmental Disabilities
Sociology 300/580: Aging in American Society: Past and Present
Sociology 300/580: Sociology of the Aging Woman

FITZPATRICK, LOIS, Gerontology Certificate Coordinator
B.L.A. (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
M.A. Sociology (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
Gerontology Certificate (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
Areas of Interest or Research: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Successful Aging, Widows and Widowers, and Divorce in Later Life.

Courses taught:
Sociology 300RL: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: The Skip-Generation Families

MURPHY, FRANK, Instructor, Lawyer, Commcare (a behavioral managed care company)
B.A. English, History (Tulane University)
J.D. Law (Washington University
Areas of Interest or Research: ethics, health care, services to indigent populations and persons of disability

Courses taught:
Sociology 300/580: Euthanasia and the Elderly
Sociology 300/580: Medical Futility and Inappropriate Care: Who Decides and by What Standards
Sociology 300/580: The Right to Live and Die and Other Ethical Issues for the Frail Elderly
Sociology 300: Legal, Medical and Ethical Issues of Aging.

RINCK, CHRISTINE, Director of Research, Institute for Human Development; Director, Interdisciplinary Training Center on Gerontology and Developmental Disabilities
B.A. Psychology (University of Missouri-Kanssas City)
M.A. Psychology (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
PhD. Psychology (University of Missouri-Kansas City)

Courses taught:
Sociology 416/556: Aging and Developmental Disabilities

RUSSELL, JULIE, Instructor, Nurse Dramatist (performance of dramatic monologues on caregiving and bioethical issues), Lay Minister,
A.D. Nursing (Kansas Newman College)
B.A., Gerontology (Wichita State University)
M.A. Sociology (University of Misssouri-Kansas City)

Courses taught:
Sociology 300/580: Adult Children and Older Parents
Sociology 300/580: Older Adults and Substance Abuse
Sociology 300/580: Elder Abuse
Sociology 300/580: The Sociology of the Aging Family
Sociology 303/580: Issues in Death and Dying (Cluster Course)
Sociology 410: Aging in Contemporary Society

WRIGHT, LINDA, Instructor, Director Johnson County Area Agency on Aging
B.A. Political Science (University of Kansas)
M.P.A. (University of Kansas)

Courses taught:
Nursing 430/530: The Experience of Health and Aging