Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center

Upcoming Events

  • Aging Seminar: Social Capital and the Benefits of Healthy Aging

    Wednesday, January 29, 2025
    11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
    Online Event
    • School of Social Work
    • Social Sciences
    • Research
    • Mailman School of Public Health
    • International and Public Affairs
    • Economics
    • College of Physicians and Surgeons
    • Columbia Nursing
    • College of Dental Medicine
    SPRING 2025 SEMINARS OF THE ROBERT N. BUTLER COLUMBIA AGING CENTER | Assets of Aging: A Series on the Capabilities that Accrue with Longer Lives Join us for the Columbia Aging Center's ONLINE seminar--the first in a series that focuses on the assets of aging and the capabilities that accrue with longer lives. Please register to attend virtually on January 29, 2025. Details and registration link below.   WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2025, 11:30AM-1:00PM ET Social Capital and the Societal Benefits of Healthy Aging Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH Director, Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center Dean and DeLamar Professor Columbia Mailman School of Public Health   Dawn C. Carr, PhD, MGS, FGSA Director, Claude Pepper Center Professor, Department of Sociology Co-Director, Aging Research on Contexts, Health and Inequalities Faculty Fellow, Office of the Vice President for Research Florida State University Virtual Seminar Location: Zoom Register to attend this virtual seminar via Zoom at: https://columbiacuimc.zoom.us/meeting/register/rfc_fodVSzSUYI9cjASiIg   Abstract: The Columbia Aging Center Spring 2025 series focuses on the assets of aging featuring capabilities that accrue with longer lives. In this seminar,  we will offer evidence about how and why making healthy aging a public health priority could provide a significant benefit for society. This session will also describe factors that shape healthy aging, our changing needs and abilities as we age, and ways that social benefits can accrue if we rethink the potential capacity of older adults. Featuring Dr. Carr’s social capital framework for gerontology and the example of volunteering, we will examine how opportunities to ensure healthy aging lie in the expansion of purposeful roles in retirement and in the awareness of mutual benefit for society and its older adults who are able to remain engaged and to contribute in meaningful ways.  

  • CPRC Seminar Series with Professor Julia Lynch

    Tuesday, February 4, 2025
    4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
    Allan Rosenfield Building, 722 W. 168 St., New York, NY 10032 Room 440
    • Basic Health Sciences
    • Clinical Health Sciences
    • Columbia Nursing
    • Government and Public Policy
    • Healthcare
    • Humanities
    • Mailman School of Public Health
    • Political Science
    • School of Social Work
    • Social Justice
    • Social Sciences
    Abstract Social epidemiology is increasingly focused on far-upstream (political, economic, structural) determinants of health. But how can we identify the mechanisms that link nebulous upstream factors like capitalism, colonialism, racism, or neoliberalism to downstream population health and health inequities? In this talk I argue that political science insights about ontology, epistemology and methods can help us identify these mechanisms and better enable action to reduce health inequalities. Julia Lynch is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA from Harvard University. Professor Lynch’s research focuses on the politics of public health, social policy, and inequality in affluent democracies, particularly in Western Europe. She co-directs the Lauder Institute and serves on the advisory boards of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, the European Studies Institute, the Italian Studies Program, and the Bioethics minor.

  • Aging Seminar: Disconnected - The Growing Class Divide in Civic Life

    Wednesday, February 19, 2025
    11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
    Online Event
    • School of Social Work
    • Social Sciences
    • Research
    • Mailman School of Public Health
    • International and Public Affairs
    • Economics
    • College of Physicians and Surgeons
    • Columbia Nursing
    • College of Dental Medicine
    SPRING 2025 SEMINARS OF THE ROBERT N. BUTLER COLUMBIA AGING CENTER | Assets of Aging: A Series on the Capabilities that Accrue with Longer Lives Join us for the Columbia Aging Center's HYBRID seminar--the next in a series that focuses on the assets of aging and the capabilities that accrue with longer lives. Please register to attend on February 19, 2025 and select in person or virtual option. Details and registration link below.   WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY  19, 2025, 11:00AM-12:00PM ET Disconnected: The Growing Class Divide in American Civic Life  Sam Pressler Practitioner Fellow University of Virginia, Karsh Institute of Democracy Research Affiliate Harvard University Human Flourishing Program Hybrid Seminar Location: Zoom  Register to attend via Zoom at: https://columbiacuimc.zoom.us/meeting/register/-6CChb97QzOhPvJnsE_qMA   Abstract: Civic life in America has grown increasingly sorted by class since the mid-20th century. Today, your level of educational attainment is the greatest predictor of whether you'll have access to civic opportunities in your neighborhood, whether you'll be a member of a community or religious group, and whether you'll have close friends and social support in your adult life. In this talk, we'll dive deeper into these trends, explore theories on what caused these dynamics, and discuss their myriad consequences.  Please also see: https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/disconnected-places-and-spaces/  

  • Aging Seminar: Silver Lining: The Prosocial Potential of Aging

    Wednesday, February 26, 2025
    12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
    Online Event
    • School of Social Work
    • Social Sciences
    • Research
    • Mailman School of Public Health
    • International and Public Affairs
    • Economics
    • College of Physicians and Surgeons
    • Columbia Nursing
    • College of Dental Medicine
    SPRING 2025 SEMINARS OF THE ROBERT N. BUTLER COLUMBIA AGING CENTER | Assets of Aging: A Series on the Capabilities that Accrue with Longer Lives Join us for the Columbia Aging Center's ONLINE seminar--the next in a series that focuses on the assets of aging and the capabilities that accrue with longer lives. Please register to attend via zoom on February 26, 2025. Details and registration link below.   WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY  26, 2025, 12:00PM-1:00PM ET The Silver Lining: The Prosocial Potential of an Aging Population Enna Chen, MA PhD Candidate Department of Psychology Stanford University  Virtual Seminar Location: Zoom Register to attend this virtual seminar via Zoom at: https://columbiacuimc.zoom.us/meeting/register/wuI8IB5RQUOl6RqMfqKJTA https://tinyurl.com/EnnaChen Abstract:  As global life expectancy rises and fertility rates fall, the population aged 65 and older is projected to double by 2050. While these demographic shifts pose potential challenges, they may also present opportunities for families, workplaces, and communities, particularly if older adults remain healthy and socially engaged. Research on age-related changes in prosocial tendencies—behaviors that benefit others, such as helping and charitable giving—points to encouraging possibilities of an aging population. In this talk, I review recent findings on the association between age and prosociality, including helping behaviors, volunteering, and charitable giving. I also discuss my ongoing work on older and younger adults’ daily helping behavior and its links to emotions and meaning in life, as well as strategies to promote prosocial engagement across the adult life span. Together, these findings highlight the potential of older adulthood as a period of enriched social contribution.  

  • Aging Seminar: Disconnected - The Growing Class Divide in Civic Life

    Thursday, February 27, 2025
    12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
    Allan Rosenfield Building, 722 W. 168 St., New York, NY 10032 Hess Commons, 10th Floor
    • School of Social Work
    • Social Sciences
    • Research
    • Mailman School of Public Health
    • International and Public Affairs
    • Economics
    • College of Physicians and Surgeons
    • Columbia Nursing
    • College of Dental Medicine
    SPRING 2025 SEMINARS OF THE ROBERT N. BUTLER COLUMBIA AGING CENTER | Assets of Aging: A Series on the Capabilities that Accrue with Longer Lives Join us for the Columbia Aging Center's HYBRID seminar--the next in a series that focuses on the assets of aging and the capabilities that accrue with longer lives. Please register to attend on February 27, 2025 and select in person or virtual option. Details and registration link below.   THURSDAY, FEBRUARY  27, 2025, 12:00PM-1:00PM ET Contributions of Wisdom to Healthy Aging: How Wisdom Can Be Enhanced Dilip V. Jeste, MD Director, Global Research Network on Social Determinants of Mental Health and Exposomics President-Elect, World Federation for Psychotherapy Editor-in-Chief, International Psychogeriatrics Hybrid Seminar Location: Zoom or 722 West 168th Street, Hess Commons Register to attend in-person and via Zoom at: https://columbiacuimc.zoom.us/meeting/register/ihe98VbeTLqKAxMTw3TY6A Abstract: Wisdom is a personality trait with several specific components: empathy and compassion, emotional regulation, self-reflection, decisiveness, and spirituality. Evidence supports an association of aging with greater wisdom. A number of randomized controlled trials have reported significant increase in wisdom components with psychosocial interventions. Our studies suggest that wisdom, especially its compassion component, can counteract loneliness and can potentially be an antidote for the modern behavioral pandemic of loneliness.