About Us
Anne P. Glass, Ph.D.
Dr. Anne P. Glass, recently retired Professor of Gerontology in the College of Health and Human Services at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, is the leading researcher studying the emerging field of elder cohousing and other elder intentional communities.
Her interest began in 2001 when she first became involved as a consultant to the founders of ElderSpirit Community in Abingdon, Virginia, in the development of their model of later life spirituality and a “goodness of fit” questionnaire.
In 2005, Dr. Glass became Assistant Director of the Institute of Gerontology in the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia. The following year, when ElderSpirit Community opened, she began a longitudinal study of the evolution of the community. She has now collected data annually through 2016, covering the first decade, supported in part by funding from the Retirement Research Foundation.
"I have watched these communities grow with much interest," says Dr. Anne Glass, “as I believe this model has the potential to help older adults have a more satisfying experience with aging. By living close together with their peers, a sense of community can develop that encourages mutual support and communal coping with the challenges that can sometimes come with age.”
Dr. Glass has given many presentations on her research, including a Presidential Symposium at the 20th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Seoul, South Korea in June of 2013.