David J. Ekerdt, Ph.D.

Social and Behavioral Sciences - Sociology, Life Span Institute

Professor

dekerdt@ku.edu

Primary office:

785.864.0688

Dole Human Development Center, 3090

University of Kansas

1000 Sunnyside Ave, Room 3091

Lawrence, KS 66045-7555

Second office:

Fraser Hall, 749

Bio
Academics
Publications
Creative Works

David J. Ekerdt is Professor of Sociology and Gerontology at the University of Kansas. From 1988-1997 he was Associate Director of the Center on Aging and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He directed the KU Gerontology Center from 2003-2016. He teaches the sociology of aging and research methods, and he has supervised graduate students on both campuses.

Dr. Ekerdt has three areas of research. (1) His funded studies of work and retirement have examined the retirement process and its effects on health, well-being, and the marital relationship, as well as behavioral expectations on later life. (2) He has used interview and survey methods to study the ways that older people manage and dispose of possessions during residential relocation. Findings from this research appear in the new book, Downsizing: Confronting Our Possessions in Later Life (2020). (3) He is one of an international team of psychologists and sociologists funded by the Volkswagen Foundation to compare older adults' conceptions of aging, time, and the future in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the U.S. https://www.alternalszukunft.uni-jena.de/

These projects have resulted in 100+ articles, chapters, reviews, editorials, and edited books. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Aging, a four-volume, one-million-word work published in 2002, a work with seven specialty editors that covers topics in biology, health care, social and behavioral sciences, humanities, ethics, and social policy.

A graduate of Boston University (Ph.D., 1979), Dr. Ekerdt has also been a member of the faculties of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Boston University School of Public Health. From 1994 to 1997 he served as editor of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, and from 1998-2001 was Chair of the Editorial Board for the journal Generations. From 1997 to 1999 he was member and chair of the Human Development and Aging (HUD-2) study section for grant reviews at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ekerdt is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), and he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society on Aging. During 2002-2003 he served as chair of the Aging and Life Course section of the American Sociological Association. In 2010-2011 he chaired the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section of GSA.

Dr. Ekerdt served as 2018 President of the GSA, the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary society for research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society - and its 5,500+ members - is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. Its members come from more than 50 countries.

Education

Teaching Interests

Aging and life course
Research methods

Research Interests

Transitions
Work and retirement
Possessions
Residential relocation
Future thinking

Selected Publications

Ekerdt, David J. “In Defense of the Not-so-Busy-Retirement.” Periodicals (newsletter, magazine, etc.). Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2018.

Ekerdt, David. “Longevity’s Purposes.” Journal Articles. Innovation in Agiong 2, no. 3 (2018): 1–2.

Lessenich, Stephan, David Ekerdt, Anne Muench, Catheryn Koss, Angel Li, and Helene Fung. “The Dog That Didn’t Bark: The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Qualitative Research on Aging.” Journal Articles. Journal of Aging Studies 47 (2018): 66–71.

Ekerdt, David. “Things and Possessions.” Book Chapters. In Ageing in Everyday Life: Materialities and Embodiments, edited by Stephen Katz, 29–44. Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 2018.

Henkens, Kene, Hendrik Van Dalen, David J Ekerdt, Douglas A Hershey, Martin Hyde, Jonas Radl, Hannah van Solinge, Mo Wang, and Hannes Zacher. “What We Need to Know about Retirement: Pressing Issues for the Coming Decade. .” Journal Articles. The Gerontologist 58 (2018): 805–12.

Ekerdt, David J, Catheryn S Koss, Li Angel, Anne Muench, Stephan Lessenich, and Fung Helene. “Is Longevity a Value for Older Adults?” Journal Articles. Journal of Aging Studies 43 (2017): 46–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2017.10.002.

Koss, Catheryn, and David J Ekerdt. “Residential Reasoning and the Tug of the Fourth Age.” Journal Articles. The Gerontologist 57 (2017): 921–29. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw010.

Ekerdt, David. “Gerontology in Five Images.” Journal Articles. The Gerontologist 56 (2016): 184–92.

Ekerdt, David J, and Catheryn Koss. “The Task of Time in Retirement.” Journal Articles. Ageing and Society 36 (2016): 1295–1311.

Ekerdt, David J, and Aislinn Addington. “Possession Divestment by Sales in Later Life.” Journal Articles. Journal of Aging Studies 34 (2015): 21–28.

Ekerdt, D. J. “Possessions as a Material Convoy.” Book Chapters. In Routledge Handbook of Cultural Gerontology, edited by J. Twigg and W. Martin, 313–20, 2015.

Ekerdt, David J, and Lindsey A Baker. “The Material Convoy after Age 50.” Journal Articles. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 69 (2014): 442–50.

Addington, A., and D. J. Ekerdt. “The Reproduction of Gender Norms through Downsizing in Later Life Residential Relocation.” Journal Articles. Research on Aging 36 (2014): 3–21.

Ekerdt, D. J. “A Mother’s Day Gift.” Web Publishing (article, blog, etc.). The New Old Age Blog. New York Times, 8, 2013.

Szinovacz, M. E., D. J. Ekerdt, A. Butt, K. Barton, and C. R. Oala. “Families and Retirement.” Book Chapters. In Handbook of Families and Aging (2nd Ed.), edited by R. Blieszner and V. H. Bedford, 461–88. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2012.

Klaus, S., D. J. Ekerdt, and B. J. Gajewski. “Job Satisfaction in Birth Cohorts of Nurses.” Journal Articles. Journal of Nursing Management 20 (2012): 461ΓÇô471.

Ekerdt, D. J., M. Luborsky, and C. Lysack. “Safe Passage of Goods and Self during Residential Relocation in Later Life.” Journal Articles. Ageing and Society 32 (2012): 833–50.

Diaz Moore, K., and D. J. Ekerdt. “Age and the Cultivation of Place.” Journal Articles. Journal of Aging Studies 25 (2011): 189–92.

Smith, G. V., and D. J. Ekerdt. “Confronting the Material Convoy in Later Life.” Journal Articles. Sociological Inquiry 81 (2011): 377–91.

Ekerdt, D. J., A. Addington, and B. Hayter. “Distributing Possessions: Personal Property Can Become a Social Matter.” Journal Articles. Generations 35, no. 3 (2011): 34–40.

Leedahl, S. N., T. L. Koenig, and D. J. Ekerdt. “Perceived Benefits of VFW Post Participation for Older Adults.” Journal Articles. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 54 (2011): 712–30.

Ekerdt, D. J. “Frontiers of Research on Work and Retirement.” Journal Articles. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 65B (2010): 69–80.

Sergeant, J., D. J. Ekerdt, and R. Chapin. “Older AdultsΓÇÖ Expectations to Move: Do They Predict Actual Community-Based or Nursing-Facility Moves within Two Years?” Journal Articles. Journal of Aging and Health 22 (2010): 1029ΓÇô1053.

Jones, I. R., P. Higgs, and D. J. Ekerdt, eds. Consumption and Generational Change: The Rise of Consumer Lifestyles and the Transformation of Later Life. Books. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 2009.

Ekerdt, D. J. “Population Retirement Patterns.” Book Chapters. In International Handbook of Population Aging, edited by P. Uhlenberg, 471–91. New York: Springer-Verlag, 2009.

Ekerdt, D. J., R. A. Applebaum, K. Holden, S. G. Post, K. Rockwood, R. Schulz, R. L. Sprott, and P. Uhlenberg, eds. Encyclopedia of Aging </i>(Vols. 1-4)<i>. Books. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002.

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David J. Ekerdt, Ph.D.

Education

Teaching Interests

Research Interests

Selected Publications

Selected Work