Ory, Carroll establish endowed scholarship

(COLLEGE STATION, TX) — Regents Professor Marcia Ory, Ph.D., and her husband, Raymond Carroll, Ph.D., have donated $25,000 to establish the first endowed scholarship for healthy aging at the Texas A&M Health Science Center (TAMHSC) School of Rural Public Health.

The scholarship will be given annually to a student involved in promoting research and practice to improve the lives of the growing population of older adults in Texas.

“My husband and I are making this contribution in recognition of our parents who taught us many of the secrets of successful aging,” Dr. Ory said. “Public health interventions can help ensure that the added years experienced by most older adults are quality years. The timing is a good reflection of this year’s Older American’s Month Theme, ‘Connecting the Community.’”

Craig Blakely, Ph.D., M.P.H., dean of the TAMHSC-School of Rural Public Health, said, “This is exactly the sort of action I would expect of Dr. Ory and her husband Dr. Carroll. It reflects well on their commitment to their craft, our university, and the belief that we professionals cannot have enough impact to change the world but that through investments in our stellar students, all is possible. Ory and Carroll represent what it is like to ‘be all you can be.’ They believe in making their community a better place, and we are fortunate to have colleagues like them here. Through this generous contribution, their legacy will long remain with the school and its students.”

Dr. Ory spent 20 years at the National Institute of Aging, directing a social science research on aging program. She came to the TAMHSC-School of Rural Public Health in 2001, and her focus has shifted to building a community, state and national infrastructure to widely disseminate evidence-based disease prevention programs for older adults. She currently serves as director of the Program on Healthy Aging at the school.

Dr. Ory has published more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, authored numerous book chapters and edited volumes. With a continuing passion for promoting healthy aging, she has made a fundamental contribution to translational research by bridging the gap between research and practice.

Last November, Dr. Ory received the Philip G. Weiler Award for Leadership in Aging and Public Health at the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting in Denver. She has been awarded the Distinguished Mentor Award by the Gerontological Society of America for her mentorship with students and junior faculty across The Texas A&M University System.