Toni Claudette Antonucci (born September 9, 1948) is an American psychologist, currently the Elizabeth R. Douvan Collegiate Professor at

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and formerly president of

Gerontological Society of America The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is a multidisciplinary organization devoted to research and education in all aspects of gerontology: medical, biological, psychological and social. History and organization The Gerontological Society o ...

Her husband was

James S. Jackson James Streshly Jackson (September 27, 1823 – October 8, 1862) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Biography Born in Fayette County, Kentucky, Jackson pursued ...

. Antonucci studies social relations at all stages throughout the life span. (

infancy In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

childhood A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

adulthood An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

, and

old age Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

), including multigenerational studies of the family and comparative studies of social relations across the life span in the United States, Europe and Japan. She strongly criticizes the practice of

mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. A ...

found in many countries, regarding it as

ageism Ageism, also called agism in American English, is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against Old age, elderly people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this ...

and

discriminatory Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sexu ...

Early life

Toni C. Antonucci was born and raised in a Brooklyn Italian-American family. Her parents valued an education and encouraged her to get one. She attended a all girls Catholic high school.

Education

She received her B.A. from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

in 1969, applied to

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

's Department of Psychology, and received her M.A. in 1972, and her Ph.d in 1973. She was the former president of Adult Development and Aging, Division 20 of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

(APA) and the former president of the

Career

Toni C. Antonucci is the Elizabeth M. Douvan Collegiate Professor of Psychology and program director and research professor in the Life Course Development Program at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

Accomplishment and awards

* 2001 Master Mentor Award from APA Division 20 * She has numerous scientific publications, in 2010 she edited (with James S. Jackson) ''Life Course Perspectives on Late Life Health Inequalities'' and in 2011 edited (with Karen Fingerman, Cynthia Berg and Jacqui Smith) the ''Handbook of Life Span Development''. * She is a member of the executive board of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, secretary general-Elect of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and received the Gerontological Society of America’s 2011 Distinguished Career Contribution to Gerontology Award * She received a Research Career Development Award and is currently funded or has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Aging and several private foundations, most recently, the Fetzer Institute and the MacArthur Foundation.

Personal life

Antonucci married

, and they were married for more than 40 years. She had two daughters with him, Ariana and Kendra, as well as three grandchildren.

References

1948 births Living people University of Michigan Department of Psychology faculty American women psychologists 21st-century American psychologists Wayne State University alumni American women academics 21st-century American women scientists 20th-century American psychologists {{US-psychologist-stub