Ruth E. Dunkle

Professor Ruth Dunkle's research, teaching, and clinical practice focus on gerontology. Recent research projects include "Mothers of Adult Daughters with a Serious Mental Illness: The Experience of African Americans and Whites" and "An Historical Perspective of Social Service Delivery in Detroit in the Twentieth Century." Since 1988, Professor Dunkle has served as a project co-director of the National Institute on Aging training program, "Social Research Training on Applied Issues of Aging," with Professor Berit Ingersoll-Dayton. She also serves as co-director of the Geriatric Fellowship Program with Letha Chadiha. Professor Dunkle recently wrote a book on the oldest old, which examines their future time perspectives and their coping strategies in dealing with the changes in their physical and psychological functioning, and which identifies relevant service delivery strategies for improving the quality of their lives.