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 Dynamics of an Aging Workforce
Sociology 300  Baby Boomers - Apex of Marketplace or Passe'

BANE, SHARE DECROIX, University of Missouri State Extension Specialist for Aging, 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,
M.S.W., (University of Missouri-Columbia)

Courses taught:
Psychology 450/5580: Counseling the Older Adult
A&S 300/580: Images of Aging in Film and Literature
Psychology 440/5540: Adult Development and Aging
Psychology 450/5580: Psychology of the Aging Family
Psychology 450/5580: The Psychology of Aging
Sociology 300/5580: Volunteerism and Aging

BREYTSPRAAK, LINDA, Associate Professor of Sociology and Medicine; Director, Center on Aging Studies; Chair of Sociology Department
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 316/5560: The Sociology of Death and Dying
Sociology 416/5556: Aging and Developmental Disabilities
Sociology 318/5554: Sociology of the Aging Woman

COLLINS, KIMBERLY, Instructor. Program Specialist, VA Heartland Network 15.
Kansas City, MO.
B.B.A., (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
M.B.A., (University of Missouri-Kansas City)

Courses taught:
American Veterans - Their Stories and Their Issues

FILION, DIANE, Associate Professor of Psychology; Chair of Psychology Department
B.A., Psychology (Eastern Washington University)
M.A., Psychology (University of Southern California)
Ph.D., Psychology (University of Southern California)
NIH Post-doctoral Fellow, Andrus Gerontology Center (University of Southern California)
Areas of interest or research: Research focuses on the use of psychophysiological measures in the study of cognition and emotion. Particular interested in age-related changes in attentional abilities as well as the ability to regulate emotion.

Courses taught:
Undergraduate and graduate courses in Experimental Psychology, Biopsychology, and Cognititive Psychology.
Teaching Adult Development and Aging - Fall Semester 2007.

FITZPATRICK, LOIS, Gerontology Studies 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, Medicare and Medicaid, Intergenerational Issues.

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.

REEDER, JEANNE, Instructor, Individual and Family Specialist for Heart of America Alzheimer's Association.

Courses taught:

Soc.300R: Dementia: In Theory and Practice

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

SCHUBERT, REBECCA, Instructor, Ordained Episcopal Minister, & Chaplain, Grace Hospice
B.A. History (University of Missouri-Kansas City)
Certificate in Gerontology (University of Missouri-Kansas City
M.A. Liberal Studies (University of Missouri-Kansas City

Courses taught:
Arts & Sciences 490B/535: Spirituality and Aging - Challenges to Aging Spiritually
Arts & Sciences 490C/535: Spirituality and Aging - Wisdom Acquired or Revealed
Arts & Sciences 490D/535: Spirituality and Aging - Spirituality as a Creative Force

SKIDMORE, MAX, Thomas Jefferson Fellow; University of Missouri Curators' Professor of Political Science, University of Missouri-Kansas City.
B.S. and B.S.Ed., University of Missouri-Columbia
M.Ed., University of Missouri-Columbia
Ph.D., American Studies, University of Minnesota
Areas of interest or research: Politics of Social Security, The presidency, and American Political Thought.

Courses Taught:
 Public Policy and Aging
The Politics of Social Security
Social Security: Dispelling the Myths

THURLOW, CHRISTINE, Instructor, Nurse Educator, Patient Services Education Dept., Research Medical Center
R.N. (Nebraska Methodist Hospital School of Nursing)
B.S.N. (University of Nebraska-Lincoln
M.S. Nursing (University of Nebraska Medical Center)
Postgraduate work (University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Nursing)

Courses taught:
Nat.Sci.430PC, Biological and Ethical Issues of Aging
Nurs.430A/530A, The Experience of Health in Aging: Physiological and Cognitive Aspects
Nurs.430B/530B, The Experience of Health in Aging: Relationships and the Environment
Nurs.430C/530C, The Experience of Health in Aging: Community Systems and Service Delivery
Soc.300R, Successful Aging
Soc.300R, Intimacy and Aging
Soc.300R, Long Term Care Continuum: From Independence to Dependency