FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: March 6, 2003

Contact: Donna McCracken, 206-6716

UIS to host conference on Meaningfulness in Later Life

SPRINGFIELD – “Maintaining Meaningfulness in Later Life,” a conference designed to aid in the recognition and development of greater meaning throughout the later stages of life, will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in the Public Affairs Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The conference is open to the public; however registration is required.

Keynote speaker will be Harry Moody, Ph.D, president of the board of directors of Elderhostel and director of the Institute for Human Values in Aging affiliated with the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College, New York City. Moody is also the author of more than 80 scholarly articles and a number of books including Five Stages of the Soul: Charting the Spiritual Passages that Shape our Lives.

The conference will feature breakout sessions led by faculty from UIS and the SIU School of Medicine, as well as other community professionals, on such topics as “Creating Meaningful End-of-Life Experiences”; “Two Gerontologists Look at their Own Aging”; “Using Technology to Maintain Independence and Meaningful Relationships”; “Aging from the Inside: Personal Journals of Later Life”; “Retirement as Opportunity for Self Development, Growth, and Meaning”; “Meaningfulness in the Lives of Frail Elderly”; “Meaningful Intimate Relationships”; and “Meaningful Roles for Older Adults in the Faith Communities.”

A tree planting ceremony and reception celebrating 25 years of gerontological education at UIS will follow the conference.

Registration, including lunch, is $50 before March 21 or $65 thereafter. Deadline to register is April 4. A half-price discount is available for current UIS students. Continuing Education Units will be available in a number of fields for an additional $10.

Conference sponsors are the University of Illinois Alumni Association at UIS, UIS’ Human Services program, Memorial Medical Center, and St. John’s Hospital Third Age Living.

To receive a conference brochure, contact the UIS Alumni office by phone at (217) 206-7395 or by e-mail at alumni@uis.edu. To register online, go to www.uiaa.org/spfld.

-30-