Corinna Loeckenhoff has been named the Janet and Gordon Lankton Professor of Developmental Psychology in the College of Human Ecology (CHE). Loeckenhoff’s research focuses on adult development and aging, studying how factors like one’s motivations, emotions, life events, cognition and social relationships affect health-related decisions. 

A fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Psychological Science, Loeckenhoff has also received two SUNY Chancellor Awards for Teaching Excellence and Faculty Service.

“Being named to this professorship is a welcome acknowledgment that the college is seeing the work I am doing in this area and considers it important,” Loeckenhoff said. “I identify as a gerontologist trained in psychology and am multidisciplinary in my approach. Gerontology is at the core of my research, teaching, and outreach.”

The Janet and Gordon Lankton Professorship was established in 2014 by Janet K. Lankton ’53 and Gordon Lankton ’53. Appointed by the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean of the College of Human Ecology, Rachel Dunifon, this professorship is awarded to a specialist in a field aligned with the college’s academic focus.

Loeckenhoff leads the Healthy Aging Lab, which researches how a range of factors impact health-related decisions and outcomes throughout one’s life. Her current projects investigate how one’s social relationships and sense of self can affect health decisions over time.

Loeckenhoff also directs CHE’s gerontology minor, which is one of several aging-related initiatives administered through the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research (BCTR). With the U.S. population living longer, Loeckenhoff believes gerontology is an area of importance and growth for CHE. 

“Our geriatric workforce is woefully understaffed and not diverse enough. It’s imperative to build a workforce that is ready for the next century,” Loeckenhoff said. 

With this in mind, Loeckenhoff teaches over 200 students a year, and many are pre-med students. She encourages them to consider a career in gerontology or geriatrics by taking advantage of CHE courses and opportunities such as the Geriatric Palliative Research Immersion Program – a joint project with Weill Cornell Medicine, where Loeckenhoff is a professor of gerontology in medicine and a co-investigator for the Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life.

“By engaging students with researchers at Weill Cornell, we are enriching the pre-med curriculum in Human Ecology,” said Loeckenhoff, adding that it can be a foundation for CHE to prepare the next generation of aging specialists who can help the population live longer, better lives. 

“We need to prepare for the increasing longevity in the population in a way that’s sustainable and beneficial for all,” Loeckenhoff said. “Expanding course offerings that show how our collective knowledge can benefit an aging population will help with that.”