Biography

Michael Smyer is the former Provost of Bucknell University, a Professor of Psychology, and founder of Graying Green: Climate Communication for an Aging World. Prior to this appointment he served as Co-director of the Sloan Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College. He received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Yale University and his doctorate in psychology from Duke University. Before joining Bucknell, Dr. Smyer was a faculty member and administrator for 14 years at Boston College (Dean and chief research officer) and for 17 years at the Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Smyer's research and teaching focus on aging and mental health, particularly the policy aspects of this area. He is a past President of the American Psychological Association's Division on Adult Development and Aging, and APA's Section on Clinical Gerontology, as well as a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the Gerontological Society of America. He is also a Fulbright Fellow (Japan, India) and and Endeavour Fellow (Australia). He has co-authored or edited nine books, including most recently Segal, D.L., Qualls, S.H. & Smyer. M.A. (2011) Aging and Mental Health (2nd ed.), Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell; Qualls, S.H. & Smyer, M.A. (Eds.), (2007) Aging and Decision-Making Capacity: Clinical, Family,and Legal Issues. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Read, C., Green, R., & Smyer, M.A. (Eds.) (2008), Aging, Genetic Technology, and the Future. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press; and Pruchno, R. & Smyer, M.A. (Eds.) (2007). Challenges of an Aging Society: Ethical dilemmas, political issues. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.