Rhonda
J. V. Montgomery (right), an internationally known scholar in aging, is the
first person to occupy the new chair in applied gerontology endowed by
the Helen Bader Foundation.
The chair is within the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. At UWM, Montgomery holds faculty appointments both in that school and in the Sociology Department of the College of Letters and Science.
Montgomery comes to UWM from the University of Kansas, where she was chair of the Ph.D. in Gerontology program and director of the Gerontology Center at the university.
Montgomery welcomes the opportunity to focus on research as the Helen Bader Chair in Appied Gerontology. “Now I can really follow up on aspects of my work that I would like to bring to the next level.” For example, she and a colleague are working on a book, “Caregiving Across the Life Cycle.” The book is funded through the Rosalyn Carter Institute.
In addition, Montgomery is honing a theoretical paper that “looks at how we can serve caregivers, and at how dynamic and complex that challenge is. In some cases we have children caring for parents, in other cases spouses caring for spouses. Each is a very different experience, and I’m looking at how we understand those differences so we can better serve each group.”
Through presentations of her research, Montgomery has had the opportunity
to influence public policy regarding caregiving, and she plans to continue
that work
as well.
The graying of society is expected to have a major effect on Wisconsin. In 1999, just 17 percent of the population was over 60. That number will nearly double, to more than 26 percent, by 2025. The change will touch the lives of virtually every resident, whether they are seniors themselves or family members, friends or caregivers who watch over them.
Montgomery says driving this fact home to policymakers is critical. “We really can’t afford to hide from this issue any longer. I first testified on behalf of respite care for caregivers 20 years ago, and finally, two decades later, we have a small benefit in the Medicaid legislation.”
Montgomery, who has worked with several UWM faculty members in the past, looks forward to continuing her cross-disciplinary approach at the university. She wants to build relationships with other faculty members, advise and encourage graduate students, and connect with community members.
She sees Milwaukee as an ideal location to continue her community-based research. Montgomery was drawn to the city by the wide range of aging services that already exists here, and how those services work together. In addition, Milwaukee and Wisconsin have been leaders in the development of long-term care. This area has “always had a vision and been in the forefront,” she says.
During the last 20 years, Montgomery has conducted scores of regional and national studies focusing on public policy and the role of the family in providing long-term care. For 11 years, she has evaluated demonstration projects in 33 states that are operating through grants from the federal Administration on Aging. The funding allows states to try new ways to provide training and support to caregivers who deal with people with dementia.
Montgomery received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Minnesota in 1980. She has published widely on issues related to families and aging. For a decade, she was editor of the journal Research on Aging. She currently serves on the Expert Advisory Panel for the Rosalyn Carter Institute and on the National Family Caregiver Support Program Advisory Committee. Montgomery previously served on the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Institute’s Social and Behavioral Sciences Advisory Committee.
—Beth Stafford