Legacy Scholars Program featured in 'Maine Magazine'

Older adults are invited to support faculty and students as they conduct research through the Legacy Scholars Program
Older adults are invited to support faculty and students as they conduct research through the Legacy Scholars Program

UNE’s Legacy Scholars Program, an initiative in which adults aged 60 and older are invited to support faculty and students as they conduct research in aging, was recently featured in Maine Magazine's Ageless Maine.

Tom Meuser, Ph.D., director of the Center for Excellence in Aging and Health (CEAH), created the program.

“People volunteer to help with research, but they get enrichment, which makes it more of a two-way street,” Meuser told Maine Magazine.

Meuser’s hope is that the research will help older adults in Maine, and elsewhere, gain a greater understanding of aging as a positive force, not something to be dreaded or feared.

“The idea is to break down disciplinary and thought barriers, to think more holistically about projects that apply to people in their daily lives—projects that are life-giving and enriching,” he said.

As one of the select “age-friendly” campuses in Maine, UNE is working to regularly engage and integrate the elder community into the life of the University.

Meuser is the founding director of CEAH. The mission of the center is to take the campus, its students, and its staff to the next level of age-friendly engagement.

Tom Meuser is the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Aging and Health
Tom Meuser is the founding director of the Center for Excellence in Aging and Health
Tom Meuser explains how the Legacy Scholar Program works to Emma Simard, Maine Magazine associate editor
Tom Meuser explains how the Legacy Scholar Program works to Emma Simard, Maine Magazine associate editor