Joining the affiliates of the Aging Studies Institute will be the inaugural holder of the Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professorship in Aging, honoring a pioneering gerontologist who was the mother of Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor.

Merril Silverstein is a prolific scholar and researcher on issues relating to intergenerational aging. Currently professor of gerontology and sociology at the University of Southern California, Silverstein has written more than 130 age-related published works and is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. He has received nearly $4.5 million in grants for aging-related research, particularly related to intergenerational relations, social support, caregiving policy, migration in later life, and international views on aging families.

The new professorship, a joint appointment in sociology and social work (through SU's Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics), recognizes the scholarship of Marjorie Cantor, which advanced understanding of the lifestyles of older persons, care-giver support systems, and the needs of elders across class and culture. Cantor, who died in 2009, left behind a 40-year body of work, including two landmark studies,"The Elderly in the Inner City of New York" and "Growing Older in New York City in the 1990s." She also co-authored Social Care of the Elderly: The Effects of Ethnicity, Class and Culture.

The professorship was created by Chancellor Cantor and her brother, Richard.

This article appeared in the spring 2012 print edition of Maxwell Perspective; © 2012 Maxwell School of Syracuse University. To request a copy, email maxwellperspective@syr.edu.