EAST LANSING, Mich. — The aging of the massive baby boom generation – and the challenges that presents – is the first major focus of a Michigan State University research initiative that explores critical issues facing Michigan families. 

The Family Research Initiative, a universitywide effort, will investigate a host of aging-related family topics such as medical care, proper nutrition and family support. Researchers in a variety of colleges will be hired to study and support the fast-growing elderly population this academic year and beyond. 

According to the census, the number of U.S. residents 65 and older is expected to more than double in 50 years – from 22 million in 2000 to 48 million in 2050 – making it the fastest growing age group. 

And that makes gerontology, or the study of aging, critical, said Janet Bokemeier, director of the initiative and chairperson of MSU’s sociology department. 

“The stress that the baby boomers are going to place on our system is shared by all,” Bokemeier said. “Aging and issues related to aging will touch everybody’s lives, whether we’re looking at health issues, political issues or community and social issues.” 

MSU has a history of family research with more than $68 million in grant funding over the past six years and some 120 faculty conducting related research. Bokemeier said the Family Research Initiative will, for the first time, highlight and expand on these research strengths. 

Proposed in 2005, the initiative has essentially been in the planning phase for two years as existing family research and potential focus areas were identified, said Bokemeier, who led the planning with Hiram Fitzgerald, associate provost for University Outreach and Engagement. 

The goal – supported by MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, Provost Kim Wilcox and Ian Gray, vice president for research and graduate studies – is to create a leading national research program on the family that cuts across disciplinary boundaries. 

Over the next two years, about 10 to 15 new faculty members will be hired to directly support the Family Research Initiative, Bokemeier said. About half of the new faculty will focus on aging-related issues. A second area of focus will be determined next year, she said. 

“This is going to be a multimillion-dollar commitment,” Bokemeier said of the overall project. 

Most, if not all, of MSU’s colleges will eventually have a role in the initiative. Among the efforts planned for the initial focus include the creation of a research team focusing on geriatrics and gerontology in the College of Human Medicine’s (CHM) Department of Family Medicine. 

Jeffrey Dwyer, acting associate dean for research in CHM, said the college is recruiting a nationally known physician-researcher to direct the effort. The director will hire and oversee a team of three faculty researchers and possibly several more that will build on family medicine’s aging-related research efforts, he said. 

Also expected to play a key role in the aging research are the colleges of Nursing and Social Science, and MSU Extension (MSUE), Bokemeier said. 

As an example of one potential project, Dwyer said agriculture officials could establish “hoophouses” – mobile, easily-constructed greenhouses – to provide hard-to-get fresh fruits and vegetables during the winter months for poor, elderly residents in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. 

“Extension’s role in the Family Research Initiative is to take the cutting-edge research that we do and develop educational programs and outreach efforts to serve Michigan’s population,” added Bokemeier, who noted that MSUE has offices in all 83 Michigan counties. 

For more information on the Family Research Initiative, visit www.families.msu.edu. 

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