America is aging. And the trend will accelerate in the 21st century. Beginning in 2008, the baby boomers, some 76 to 78 million strong, will begin to turn 62 and be eligible for social security. Societal issues related to the elderly will then become even more urgent.

"The aging of America," say local educators Henry Holstege and Robert Riekse (authors of a landmark textbook called Growing Older in America), "is a societal revolution with far-reaching implications."

Last year the state of Michigan gave a major grant to the Calvin College-Grand Rapids Community College Consortium on Aging -- run by Riekse, a professor at GRCC, and Holstege, a Calvin College professor -- to study such implications.

And, on March 15, the Paul B. Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College in partnership with the Calvin College-Grand Rapids Community College Consortium on Aging and the Older Learner Center of Grand Rapids Community College will host a major conference on aging.

"Future Issues In Aging: Government Policies, Medicare and Alternatives" already has about 150 registrants -- with over 200 people expected to attend on March 15. The intended audience is both practioners and policy makers.

The conference will be anchored by two of the top gerontologists in the country – Dr. Fernando Torres-Gil and Dr. Robert Binstsock.

Torres-Gil is a Professor of Social Welfare and Policy Studies at UCLA and an Associate Dean in the School of Public Policy and Social Research. He also is Director of the School's Center for Policy Research on Aging. He has extensive government and public policy experience. He served as the first Assistant Secretary for Aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As the Clinton administration's chief advocate on aging, he played a key role in defending Medicare and Medicaid during the 1995-96 budget debates. He worked with H.H.S. Secretary Donna Shalala in overseeing aging policy throughout the federal government. He organized the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. He also served as a member of the President's Welfare Reform Working Group. He remains active in advising elected and appointed federal officials at all levels on Hispanic politics, gerontology, welfare reform, long-term care and disability. Born and raised in Salinas, California, Torres-Gil is the son of migrant farm workers who holds a B.A. in political science from San Jose State and master's and Ph.D. degrees from Brandeis.

Binstock is the Henry Luce Professor of Aging, Health and Society at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and a former President of the Gerontology Society of America. He served as director of a White House Task Force on Older Americans under President Lyndon B. Johnson and as chair and member of a number of advisory panels to the federal, state and local governments. He is author of some 175 publications on the politics and policies affecting aging, including 19 books. He is a graduate of Harvard. Torres-Gil will speak at 10 a.m., while Binstock will speak at 1:30 p.m.

Following both presentations will be one-hour panel discussions, featuring local experts such as James Haveman (a Calvin graduate who is director of the Michigan Department of Community Health), Lynn Alexander (director of the Office of Services to the Aging) and John Peterson (also with the Office of Services to the Aging). "This will be a major event," said Dr. Corwin Smidt, executive director of the Paul B. Henry Institute at Calvin College. "This is an important public policy issue for our society and at this conference we will hear from two of the top people in the country. It should be very illuminating."