About Academic Affairs

The AARP Office of Academic Affairs was established in 2004 to focus on three main programs: 

• Partnerships with higher education institutions and organizations We create partnerships with academia to share ideas and resources, to implement projects of mutual interest, and to develop long-term relationships that will create social change that benefits older adults.

• Programs for students in gerontology Paid internship opportunities are available year-round for undergraduate and graduate students at AARP state offices and at the AARP national office in Washington, DC. Some scholarship support is occasionally available, but is restricted to students from our academic partner institutions. 

• Academic resources A large part of the Office of Academic Affairs' mission is to link AARP's resources with those of the academic community. We do this through visiting scholars, presentations at academic meetings, promoting AARP's research resources to the academic community, and publishing syntheses of research and opinion that can benefit both educators and AARP.

Academic Affairs is directed by Harry R. Moody, Ph.D., a renowned gerontological educator and ethicist. He also serves as Senior Associate with the International Longevity Center-USA and Senior Fellow of Civic Ventures. Dr. Moody previously served as Executive Director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College and Chairman of the Board of Elderhostel. A graduate of Yale (1967) and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Columbia University (1973), Dr. Moody taught philosophy at Columbia, Hunter College, New York University, and the University of California at Santa Cruz.