The emphasis on productive aging is right. Statistics bear this out. These figures highlight the important roles that retired and elder citizens play in their communities. Building further on the Ph.D. program is high on Caro's priority list. He believes that the doctoral program may be the most ambitious undertaking of the Institute.
Gerontology is a small field.
We were the second university in the country to offer a doctoral program in social gerontology, and we have the potential to have great impact in the field by graduating Ph.D.'s. So it is important that we do it well. The challenge, he says, is to build the program with the limited resources at hand. While Caro believes in building on existing strengths, he also believes that the research capacity of the Institute should be further expanded. Caro recently received approval to advertise for three vacant positions within the Institute, and he expects to widen the Institute's research capacity by bringing in people who have strength in different research areas.