Indiana State University Newsroom

An Indiana State University professor is the inaugural recipient of the Rising Star Junior Faculty Honor from the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

Tina Kruger, assistant professor of applied health sciences in the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services, was recognized during the association's annual meeting and educational leadership conference Feb. 26 through March 1 in Nashville, Tenn.

The award recognizes new faculty whose teaching and/or leadership stands out as impactful and innovative, according to the association's website. Kruger came to Indiana State in 2011 and was hired to develop a gerontology program, which she now directs. She is Indiana State's representative in the association and co-chairs the assocaition's academic program development committee.

"I am thrilled to have been selected as the first recipient of this award," Kruger said. "I have had the privilege to work with gerontology education pioneers to help develop competencies for gerontology education, to create materials to support gerontology course and program development and to conduct research on gerontology education practices. To have my efforts recognized by those for whom I have so much respect is both exciting and humbling. I look forward to continuing and expanding the work I have been doing."

Indiana State offers an undergraduate certificate in gerontology, but Kruger plans to expand the program to a minor and eventually a graduate-level certificate. She teaches a variety of courses, both age-related and others, and has developed a study abroad course to Finland to facilitate student understanding of the variety of aging experiences, differences in provision of services to older adults, and the global implications of aging.

She is active in several research projects, focusing on health behaviors and aging, sustainability and aging and gerontology education. Her work includes several community-based participatory research studies related to physical and mental health, primarily conducted with residents of low resource areas. She is passionate about promoting health and well-being for all and views access to resources and appropriate use of finite resources as a human rights issue.

Kruger holds a doctorate in gerontology and a certifiate in college teaching from the University of Kentucky, where she focused on emotional and behavioral responses to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. She also holds a Bachelor of Art in sociology from Purdue University, a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Washington State University-Vancouver.

In addition to the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education and its parent organization, the Gerontological Society of America, she is active in several professional and service organizations, including the Vigo County Triad, a group devoted to reducing fear and promoting safety among older adults.

Photo: http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/Other/Headshot-Proofs/IP-Portrait-Proofs/KrugerTina/i-GDCZXVb/0/L/Kruger_Tina-4892-L.jpg

Writer: Dave Taylor, media relations director, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3743 or dave.taylor@indstate.edu