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Lasell University
Lasell University

Fuss Center Events

The Fuss Center organizes and hosts talks, conferences, and other age-friendly events for the University and the local community. 

Talk of Ages

In 2012, the Fuss Center launched the Talk of Ages program to bring together the Lasell University - Lasell Village intergenerational community around topics of mutual interest. Each year for the Talk of Ages Speakers Series, a theme is selected and scholars, researchers, artists, and community partners are invited to visit Lasell and share their work and perspective in intergenerational exchanges with faculty, younger learners, and older learners.  Themes have included:

  • 2019-2020  Building Bridges Across Generations
  • 2018-2019  Mentors
  • 2017-2018  Dignity
  • 2016-2017 People and Politics
  • 2015-2016 Frontiers in Health and Medicine 
  • 2014-2015 Exploring Life through Science and Art 
  • 2013-2014 Celebrating Intergenerational Teaching and Learning 
  • 2012-2013 Healthy Living and the Environment

The annual Talk of Ages Service Award is presented to members of the Lasell community who have given their time and insights to advance awareness around aging issues and intergenerational relations. The Fuss Center appreciates the efforts of these awardees:

  • Giuliana Pandolfi, Class of 2020
  • Professor Marsha Mirkin, Psychology
  • Sarah Torrey, Class of 2018
  • Sallie Katz, Nellie Murstein, Lasell Village
  • Megan Conte, Class of 2014
  • Kaitlyn Quinn, Class of 2013

The Fuss Center's Talk of Ages Intergenerational Women's History Month Celebration, co-hosted annually in March with the Nancy Donahue '49 Institute for Ethics, Diversity, and Inclusion and Lasell's Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL) is distinctive in the attention it brings to historical, developmental, and intergenerational issues in the exploration of contemporary gender issues.

As part of the Talk of Ages  program and Lasell's Age-Friendly University (AFU) efforts, the Fuss Center collaborates with a variety of community organizations on events that call attention to aging issues and intergenerational exchange in higher education. Some recent events have included:

Intergenerational Symposium - Developing Your Tool Box 

In celebration of Intergenerational Month (September, 2019) in Massachusetts, the Fuss Center welcomed to campus professionals, educators, and community leaders to share information for developing intergenerational tool boxes through networking with intergenerational-focused practitioners, participating in activities around intergenerational exchange, examining how an intergenerational lens can be applied to age-friendly, dementia-inclusive, and livable community work, and discussing challenges of getting started, finding funding, and other needs. The Intergenerational Symposium was coordinated by Bridges Together with the support of the Encore Boston Network and the Fuss Center.

Reframing Aging - Applying Communications  Research to Advocacy Challenges 

In collaboration with the Massachusetts Gerontology Association (MGA), the Fuss Center hosted MGA's 2018 Annual Conference that brought together educators, researchers, practitioners and public policymakers in Massachusetts to learning about the recommendations of FrameWork's Reframing Aging project about the narrative of aging created by public messages and how we can reframe our language to create more accurate, balanced, and effective messages about aging.

The Fuss Center has had the pleasure of hosting MGA's Fall Policy Forums on topics that have included:

    • The Aging Network: Challenges and Opportunities for Emerging Leaders
    • At Ground Level: Massachusetts Cities and Towns Respond to Changing Demographics
    • Falls Prevention - New Perspectives on Research, Policy and Practice
    • End-of-life care, Choices and Conversations

Talk of Ages Summit: A Vision for Aging Education and Age-Friendly Campuses in Massachusetts - In 2015, over 100 educators and community partners across Massachusetts convened at Lasell to discuss the implications of age demographics in Massachusetts higher education, learn new strategies for integrating aging content and intergenerational activities into your courses, and help to shape a vision for aging education and age-friendly campuses in our state.  The Summit lead to Lasell's involvement in the Age-Friendly University (AFU) initiative and the Fuss Center's age-friendly work with the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE).

The Summit was sponsored by a grant from the APS Fund for Teaching and Public Understanding of Psychological Science.