Aging Work Force Prompts 'Wake-Up Call'
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Aging work force prompts ‘wake-up call’ Expert to advise local employers on retaining skilled older workers Free lunch and conversation with Helen Dennis, specialist on aging and employment 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26 Embassy Suites, 110 W. Washington St. As baby boomers reach retirement age, the decline in America‟s skilled work force poses an urgent challenge for employers. And as life expectancies increase, many employees want or need to continue working beyond the standard retirement age. Both sides can benefit if employers recognize the value of recruiting and retaining older workers, said Helen Dennis, a nationally known expert on aging, employment and retirement. “This is a wake-up call to business, to acknowledge the aging workforce and what they need to do to remain competitive,” said Dennis, a California-based corporate consultant and university lecturer. “The population is aging. We have fewer people coming through the pipeline. How do you get the best people?” Dennis will make her case to central Indiana employers on Jan. 26, at an event sponsored by the University of Indianapolis‟ Center for Aging and Community. The free luncheon talk is scheduled 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the Consulate Room of Embassy Suites, 110 W. Washington St. The event is free, but reservations are required. Contact Lisa Battiato at (317) 791-5936 or [email protected]. Promoting the importance of meaningful work for older adults is one of the core missions of the Center for Aging and Community, said Associate Director Ellen Miller. On April 15 in Indianapolis, the center will host a national conference for executives, “Managing the 21 st Century Workplace,” featuring talks by veteran broadcaster Hugh Downs and national experts in aging and work force issues. “Aside from the emerging issues for employers, this change in the work force will likely create a serious economic issue for cities and states,” said Miller, an associate professor at the university with a background in physical therapy and gerontology. “Clearly, those in the baby boom generation are living longer and healthier, and many will lack the means to leave the work force entirely. Mutual accommodations such as flex time and phased retirement can help employers, employees and communities.” Dennis, a CAC board member and editor of the books “Retirement Preparation” and “Fourteen Steps in Managing an Aging Work Force,” said the widespread elimination of middle- management positions during the 1980s and ‟90s created a gap in the work force that will make the looming demographic changes even more challenging for employers. “Now we have to say, „Where have all the workers gone?‟” she said. “There are not enough younger workers to take those places at the same level of competency.” About the Center for Aging and Community Established by the University of Indianapolis in 2001, the Center for Aging and Community takes an interdisciplinary approach to developing partnerships between higher education and the broader community of business, government, service agencies and families. Its key focus areas are Aging in Place and Meaningful Work for Older Adults. The center also offers two graduate degree programs in gerontology. Find more information at http://cac.uindy.edu. News coverage of the Jan. 26 and April 15 events is welcome, and Helen Dennis and Ellen Miller are available for advance interviews. Call (317) 788-3298 for more information. Posted: January 1st, 2005 under Campus News. Events explore African-American spirituality University of Indianapolis to host lectures, national conferences for religious leaders The authors of a forthcoming book on African-American Christian spirituality will speak Feb. 22 at the University of Indianapolis and will convene a new semiannual conference series on the topic for pastors, scholars and laypersons from around the country. The Revs. Eugene Blair and Glandion Carney will deliver the university’s 2005 Showers Lectures in the Christian Religion. This year’s lectures, under the theme “African-American Christian Spirituality: Exploring the Heritage & Claiming the Promise,” are scheduled at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22. The following day, Feb. 23, Blair and Carney will convene the inaugural Gathering of African- American Sages, to be conducted twice yearly at the University of Indianapolis. The purpose of the gatherings is expressed in the West African concept of sankofa , which means “in order to move forward, you have to look backward.” African-American Christian spirituality looks to African culture and cosmology while at the same time embracing the presence of the Holy Spirit in congregational life and daily living. Guest speaker for the inaugural gathering in Indianapolis will be the Rev. Abena Safiyah Fosua, a clergy member of the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and former missionary to Ghana, West Africa. Under her topic, “Living with Contradiction: A Second Look at African-American Spirituality,” she will probe the dichotomies experienced by African-American Christians and congregations. She writes weekly articles for the UMC’s General Board of Discipleship and is the author of books including Mother Wit: 365 Meditations for African-American Women (Abingdon Press, 1996) and Jesus and Prayer (Abingdon Press, 2002) . The gatherings are part of a collaboration among the university, the Office of African-American Spiritual Formation of the Detroit Conference of the United Methodist Church, and the Upper Room Ministry in Nashville, Tenn. To complement the university conferences, Upper Room Ministries will host pilgrimages to Africa, and the Detroit Conference will host annual gatherings of the Sankofa Spiritual Formation Community. Blair currently serves as Director of African American Spiritual Formation for the Detroit Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He also works as a congregational development consultant and has traveled, studied and preached in Africa, Israel, Mexico and Jamaica. Before entering the ministry and serving several pastorates, he was a police officer and community organizer in Minnesota. Carney, based in Helena, Ala., is an ordained minister in the Christian Reform Church, a popular retreat leader and the author of seven books on spirituality. Since 2000, he has served as chaplain of the Christian Legal Society, an organization that works with lawyers, judges and other members of the legal profession to provide spiritual counsel and opportunities for spiritual formation. Funding for the Gathering of African-American Sages is provided by The Crossings Project, a Lilly Endowment-funded program in theological exploration of vocation at the University of Indianapolis. For more information, contact Dr. Michael G. Cartwright, executive director of The Crossings Project and Dean of Ecumenical & Interfaith Programs at the university, at (317) 788- 2106. EVENTS “African-American Christian Spirituality: Exploring the Heritage & Claiming the Promise” 2005 Showers Lectures in the Christian Religion When: Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005 The Rev. Eugene Blair, 4:30 p.m. The Rev. Glandion Carney, 7:30 p.m. Where: University Chapel, Schwitzer Student Center, 1400 E. Hanna Ave. Admission: Free and open to the public First semiannual Gathering of African-American Sages When: 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005 Where: Good Hall, Hanna and Otterbein avenues Guest speaker: The Rev. Abena Safiyah Fosua, “Living with Contradiction: A Second Look at African-American Spirituality” Admission: Free and open to the public Lunch reservations: Contact the Office of Ecumenical & Interfaith Programs at (317) 788-2106 or [email protected] Posted: January 1st, 2005 under Campus News. Music convention is prelude to European tour UINDY’s wind ensemble and orchestra begin whirlwind year Performing at the Indiana Music Educators Association State Convention on Jan. 14 is a thrill for the University of Indianapolis Symphonic Wind Ensemble, but it won’t be the only one this year. The 65 members of the Wind Ensemble and Chamber Orchestra also will undertake a tour of Austria this spring, performing in Vienna, Vienna Woods, Salzburg and Innsbruck from May 12 to 21. Highlights will include a concert in Haydn Hall at Vienna’s Esterhazy Palace, as well as a sightseeing cruise on the Danube River and visits to castles, palaces and the famous “Composer’s Cemetery” where Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert and other notables are buried. The overseas trip is the first for the Chamber Orchestra. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble traveled in 1998 to Athens, Greece, where the university has a branch campus. Before that, however, comes the state convention performance, the first for a large ensemble from the University of Indianapolis. Director of Bands Thomas McCauley is enthused about appearing before the statewide audience of music educators and students from elementary school through the university level. The convention is scheduled Jan. 13 to 15 at the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for us to spread the good news about all that is happening on our campus,” McCauley said. The Symphonic Wind Ensemble is comprised of both music and non-music majors from the university, selected through auditions. The 3:30 p.m. Jan. 14 performance will include works by Holst, Shostakovich, Edward Elgar, J.B. Arban and Warren Benson. Guest artist Anthony Kniffen, principal tuba from the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, will perform with the group. An IMEA panel selected the ensemble based on a submitted recording. Music department Chair Jo Ann Domb sees the invitation as yet another milestone for the university. “As a department of music grows in number and quality, there are important steps along the way to benchmark success,” she said. “Certainly, the selection of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble to perform at the Indiana Music Educators Association Convention is such a benchmark.”For more information, contact Jennifer Arbaugh at (317) 788-2183 or [email protected]. Posted: January 1st, 2005 under Campus News.