Student Awards
Eligibility
Students whose abstracts are accepted for an oral presentation or poster presentation are eligible to submit a paper for consideration for a student award that also has a monetary reward. Please be sure to indicate “yes” on the registration form above if you plan to make a submission for a student paper award.
Students are encouraged to apply for cash awards given for the outstanding student paper in each of the following categories:
- Jerome Kaplan Award for best graduate student paper, honoring Dr. Kaplan’s more than 50 years as a major leader in gerontology at the local, state, national, and international levels.
- The Arnedia Smith Award for best undergraduate student paper, honoring Professor Smith’s work at Edison State Community College, her strong dedication to gerontology education, and her leadership in the former Ohio Network of Educational Consultants in Aging. (ONECA).
- Best Conference Theme, recognizing an outstanding student paper related to this year’s theme.
The deadline for student paper awards is March 10, 2023
Submission Criteria
Manuscripts must align with the student’s conference presentation, and may be created specifically for the conference or be a modification of current work such as a class project, paper, thesis, or dissertation. The submission should not exceed 25 pages (not counting references and tables) and follow APA format (e.g., double-spaced, 12-point font, and 1-inch margins). Submit the manuscript via email to Dr. Chih-Ling Liou, OAGE Award Chair via email cliou@kent.edu. It is also highly recommended that students who provide a submission for the award ask a mentor or faculty adviser to send an email to Dr. Chih-Ling Liou to explain why the submitted manuscript merits consideration for the award.
See Past Winners
Dr. Jerome Kaplan, Best Graduate Paper
For over 50 years, Dr. Kaplan was a major leader in gerontology at the local, state, national and international levels.
Jerome Kaplan, Ph.D., M.S.W, M.A., B.B.A. (1922-2009)
- First commissioner on aging in the United States in Minnesota
- Executive Director of Mansfield Memorial Homes for 30 years
- Founding president, Ohio Network of Educational Consultants in the Field of Aging
- President, Gerontological Society of America
- Editor, The Gerontologist.
- President, Ohio Research Council on Aging
- Published 300+ articles, books, book reviews, chapters, editorials
- Affiliated with Ohio State University, The University of Akron Institute for Life-Span Development and Gerontology
- Selected honors/recognitions
- Special Distinguished Award, Ohio Department of Aging,
- Medal of Honor Award, The Ohio Philanthropic Homes for Housing for the Aged
- Lifetime Achievement Award, National Association of Social Workers
- State of Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame
- Association for Gerontology in Higher Education recognition for extraordinary and exemplar contributions to gerontology
Arnedia Smith Best Undergraduate Paper
Arnedia Smith was a Professor of Sociology at Edison State Community College for 13 years. She died after a brief illness at age 40. She was an original member, Ohio Network of Educational Consultants in the Field of Aging.
This award was created to remember this well liked and well respected educator with a strong dedication to gerontology education. She was very prominent in promoting the development & advancement of gerontology programs throughout the region and state and co-chaired ONECA Annual Conference. Arnedia was involved with professional workshops designed to assist educators and service providers in the field of aging.