2024-25 Impact Report

At MSU’s AgeAlive, we believe aging is about more than growing older. It’s about growing together. This year marked a turning point, with new leadership and a renewed commitment to healthy aging, lifelong learning, and intergenerational collaboration. As a university-wide initiative, AgeAlive brings people, programs, and partners together to support well-being at every stage of life. Whether you attended an event, shared your insights, or supported our mission from afar, thank you for being part of our community.

2024–2025 Impact at a Glance

The past year brought growth, visibility, and new connections across MSU and the communities we serve. Below are highlights that reflect AgeAlive’s mission to advance healthy aging, generational connection, and lifelong well-being through campus and community collaboration.

Spotlighting Research That Improves Lives

Through events like the Annual Research Forum and Awards Ceremony, AgeAlive amplifies the work of MSU scholars and partners who are redefining what it means to age well and turning research into real-world impact.

Our Annual Research Forum, titled Diverse Living Environments for Aging Well, brought MSU scholars, planners, and community leaders together to explore how housing and environment shape well-being. Hosted at the MSU Federal Credit Union, the hybrid, statewide event featured a vibrant cross-sector panel with AARP Michigan, local governments, researchers, and developers.

“Location of housing is a critical player in social determinants of health, and also dictates how dependent you are on transportation to necessary destinations including healthcare, work, food, and recreation.” — Zeenat Kotval-K, associate professor, Urban and Regional Planning, and AgeAlive Leadership Council member

We proudly honored excellence in aging-related research and engagement at our 5th Annual Awards Ceremony, celebrating MSU faculty and partners whose work is making a meaningful difference across generations and communities.

• Research in Aging Award: Dr. Daniel Vélez Ortiz – for dementia care work in Latino communities
• Research in Aging Award: Dr. Fatemeh Saeidi-Rizi – for research on green spaces and mental well-being
• Intergenerational Award: Kinship Care Resource Center
• Legacy Award: Dr. Joseph Hess

“Dr. Hess has inspired us by his service to others, his visionary leadership, by being a lifelong learner, and by his compassion for all.”
—Lynn Bartley, Legacy Award nominator

Connecting Across Generations

Through valued partnerships with East Lansing’s Prime Time Senior Programs, the MSU Social Science Scholars Program, and other community collaborators, AgeAlive continued to foster connection, learning, and well-being across generations.

Our Generations Connect program built bridges between MSU students and older adults through storytelling and shared experiences. Highlights this year were Fun in the Fall and the Spring Fling, which featured lively evenings of music, games, and conversation.

We also hosted the Town & Gown Series, a community learning initiative featuring MSU faculty speakers on topics ranging from creativity and public health to history and justice. These sessions encouraged meaningful dialogue and reflected our commitment to lifelong learning.

In addition, we partnered on free nutrition classes with the Tri-County Office on Aging, Allen Neighborhood Center, and others, offering practical education for healthy living.

Created with IMPART Alliance, the Butterfly Garden exhibit brought beauty and reflection through community-based art. Across these programs, AgeAlive reached hundreds of adult learners and MSU students this year through community-based initiatives.

Shaping an Age-Friendly MSU

As steward of MSU’s Age-Friendly University designation, AgeAlive plays a central role in shaping a campus where people of all ages can thrive. As people live longer and campuses grow more multigenerational, this global designation affirms MSU’s commitment to inclusion, lifelong learning, and age-friendly innovation.

This year, AgeAlive focused on strengthening the foundation for long-term impact and helping embed age-friendly principles across MSU’s teaching, research, and engagement.

MSU is one of just over 110 institutions worldwide in the Age-Friendly University Global Network, a growing coalition dedicated to making campuses more welcoming to people of all ages.

Forward Momentum

With the recent appointment of Lisa Richey as director and the addition of Kelsey Teribery as communications coordinator, AgeAlive entered a new chapter of leadership, outreach, and strategic focus. Together, the team expanded visibility, clarified priorities, and laid the groundwork for long-term impact.

Backed by a refreshed strategic plan and the thoughtful guidance of our Leadership Council, AgeAlive is aligning its work with MSU’s age-friendly university designation and the evolving needs of an aging society. We’re working to ensure that AgeAlive remains not just visible, but vital to MSU’s future as a national leader in age-friendly innovation.

Honoring Our Founding Vision

As we look to the future, we also honor the individuals who helped bring AgeAlive to life. Founding director Clare Luz, who co- launched AgeAlive with Barbara Sawyer-Koch, recently reflected:

“Helping to bring AgeAlive to life has been a privilege and joy. The hope was that it would someday be a highly regarded, high-impact MSU organization, reflecting land-grant values. Watching it grow from a grassroots effort to a vital, positive force has inspired awe and gratitude.”

We’re grateful for Clare’s leadership and for everyone who helped lay the foundation for what AgeAlive is becoming.