GVSU Faculty Coordinators
Dr. Kimboko has over 45 years of work in the field of aging as an educator, researcher and consultant. She has served as a leader at the local, state and national levels including on committees of the American Society for Aging and the National Council on Aging. Since coming to Michigan in 2000 to serve as GVSU Dean of Graduate Studies & Grants Administration, she has been active in the West Michigan aging community, having served on the Area Agency on Aging of West Michigan [AAAWM] Advisory Council, the Senior Odyssey Leadership Team, the Grand Rapids Community College Gerontology Program Advisory Board, the Encore Learning Lab Coming of Age faculty and the State Advisory Council On Aging (SAC). She currently continues to serve on the AAAWM Advisory Board, as well as the AAAWM Program Review Committee, Dementia Friends Michigan, Care Resources (PACE) Community Advisory Committee, and the Clark Retirement Community Foundation Board.
Dr. Kimboko developed and has coordinated the annual Art & Science of Aging Conference at GVSU for the past 17 years. She teaches in the Health Administration master’s program and has developed a course on Aging in Society for graduate students in the social work and health administration programs. She is passionate about connecting older and young adults together.
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Dr. Jing Chen is a professor of psychology and has been teaching developmental courses since her arrival at GVSU in 1999. Trained in cognitive aging/experimental psychology, she is passionate about disseminating aging research and cultivating students’ interests in learning about the journey of aging. In 2009, she developed a new course on aging: Perspectives on Aging and has been teaching it ever since. Dr. Chen has served on the conference planning committee for the Annual Art & Science of Aging Conference at GVSU since its inception in 2005. She has coordinated the student research session for the past 16 years in addition to developing and delivering workshops on topics at the frontier of aging research.
Dr. Chen is committed to helping bridge the gap between the younger and older generations. She helped found and serves as the faculty advisor for a student organization on aging – SAGE (Students for Aging and Gerontology Enrichment). The development of the Grand Connections program is also an important and concrete step in her effort to help build a truly integrated and age-friendly community.