Suzanne R. Kunkel

Suzanne Kunkel, PhD, is University Distinguished Professor of Gerontology and Executive Director of the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University. Her research is broadly focused on the social determinants of health, includin the system of programs and services designed to support older adults in their goals to remain healthy, active, and engaged in their communities for as long as they choose. She has been supported by more than $7.5 million in external research funding to assess the implementation and effectiveness of these programs, including innovations such as consumer self-direction and dementia-friendly communities, and the role of cross-sectoral organizational partnerships in enhancing population health. Dr. Kunkel has published widely on the results of these projects, and on gerontology education. With Frank Whittington and Kate de Medeiros, she authored the second edition of Global Aging: Comparative Perspectives on Aging and the Life Course, a Springer textbook released in 2020. Kunkel is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE); she has served as President of AGHE, and Treasurer of GSA. She is the recipient of the Clark Tibbitts Award for contributions to the advancement of gerontology as a field of study.