Director’s Welcome
Within the next 15 years, the United States will achieve a pivotal marker of population aging: 20% of Americans will be retirement age or older. This shift brings substantial opportunities and challenges for policies and planning at local and national levels. As we ready ourselves for a future in which we are aging as individuals and as a nation, it is critical that expertise on aging translates to both high quality research and real-world solutions. Across our different projects and areas of focus, tying us together is our mission to improve and enrich the lives of older adults.
For more than 4 decades, the Pepper Institute has focused on issues central to the lives of older adults. Today, we are an engaged group of multidisciplinary faculty, students, and stakeholders comprising a vibrant center of thought leadership, academic and applied research, and community engagement. We are home to several research initiatives including our collaborative research and consulting hub ARCHI and an international fellowship program on population aging (Pepper International Fellows). These initiatives extend our expertise to decision makers and future scholars across the nation and the world.
In partnership with community and state leaders, we house the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), which offers roughly 100 courses per year geared to older adults in our area. We also support The Safe Mobility for Life Coalition, funded by the Florida Department of Transportation to improve the safety, access, and mobility of Florida’s aging road users.
Together, we engage in award winning research, consult on today’s most pressing policy issues, train the next generation of leaders in aging, and remain a bustling location of education and engagement for older adults. As a fourth generation Floridian, I have been proud to call the Pepper Institute and FSU my professional home for more than decade. I invite you to look around, see the exciting things going on , and connect with us!
Miles G. Taylor, Ph.D.
Director, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy