Trent University’s Office of Research and Innovation is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sally Chivers to a three-year term as the director of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society (TCAS). 
“This appointment marks a significant transition after the preliminary five years for TCAS,” said Dr. Neil Emery, vice-president, Research and Innovation. “Under the leadership of founding director Dr. Mark Skinner, the Centre has established itself as an exceptional hub for critical aging research. With Dr. Chivers at the helm, I expect that momentum to continue to flourish in dynamic new directions.”

Prof. Chivers is a full professor in the Departments of English and Gender & Women's Studies at Trent University. She has been the chair of the Department of Canadian Studies and acting  director of the English Public Texts graduate program. Current chair of the Modern Language Association’s Age Studies Forum Executive Committee, Prof. Chivers’ teaching focuses on illness and literature, feminism and disability, aging, care and culture, as well as gender and popular culture. In the coming year, Prof. Chivers will teach a fourth year English course about disability theory.

“A founding member of the Centre’s executive committee, Dr. Chivers has been a vital force in the establishment of TCAS as a Centre of research excellence in Canada and internationally,” said Prof. Mark Skinner, past chair of TCAS, who has taken on a new role at Trent as acting dean of Arts and Science, Social Sciences. “She brings with her to the role of director the confidence of her colleagues as well as the renown she’s earned as a cultural scholar. I look forward to working with Dr. Chivers as she leads Trent’s next phase of excellence in aging studies.”

“I’m thrilled to take up the directorship of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society,” said Prof. Chivers. “Dr. Skinner’s vision and leadership as the Centre’s first director has made TCAS an exciting place for scholars from around the world to come and collaborate with peers who want to work on some of the most pressing issues of our time. We have an eventful year ahead, moving into the Bata Research and Innovation Cluster and hosting TrentAging2019. I am honoured to lead TCAS through these monumental events.”

Prof. Chivers’ research program sets her apart as a preeminent scholar in her field. She brings ideas and methods rooted in the humanities to interdisciplinary team research projects, including a new endeavor that seeks to investigate age-friendly communities within communities; a partnership that came out of “Promising Practices,” itself a multi-million-dollar international research project comprised of social workers, sociologists, doctors, nurses, economists, historians, anthropologists, union representatives, employer organizations, gerontologists and more.  

About the Trent Centre for Aging & Society

Attracting leading university scholars from across Trent’s humanities, social sciences and professional programs since 2013, the Trent Centre for Aging & Society (TCAS) draws together an interdisciplinary team of faculty members, students and community stakeholders to do what no other Centre can do; build meaningful dialogue on aging that takes into account the diversity of experiences of older people to debunk the myths about aging, old age and older people. Home to two Canada Research Chairs and faculty and students from Canadian Studies, English Literature, Gender and Women’s Studies, Geography, Kinesiology, Nursing, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology and Sustainability Studies, as well as partners from the municipal, health care and community sectors, TCAS is a catalyst for collaborative aging studies from a diversity of perspectives. As a team, TCAS promotes innovative research, education, and community engagement on aging and old age that is critically-informed, challenges ageist policies and practices, and is responsive to the issues facing older people and aging communities.

About Trent University

One of Canada's top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that's personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent's unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent's students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham delivers a distinct mix of programming in the east GTA.