As the senior living industry continues to rebuild after the oppression of COVID-19, the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living is focused on growing enrollment and developing a strong future workforce prepared to disrupt and drive positive change. In the last academic year, 42 students from various WSU degree programs enrolled in HBM 375 Exploring the Business of Aging, bringing the total number of WSU students introduced to this industry to nearly 1,000 since the Carson College offered the first elective in senior living (now aging business management) in 2011.

Graduates who have strong business and technical skills and a working knowledge of human psychology will be in high demand in the senior living industry, according to senior living technology panelists Kyle Rand, Erin Hayes, Steve Moran, and Matt Reiners, who were hosted by the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living during the Carson College’s annual Hospitality Week. The panelists spoke about the rewards of their jobs and the abundance of career opportunities in the senior living realm as the number of people over 55 eventually exceeds those under age 18.

Just over a decade ago, Nancy Swanger and four senior living executives established the nation’s first senior living management course within a university hospitality program. At the time, Swanger, an associate professor of hospitality business management in the WSU Carson College of Business, didn’t know it was the beginning of something much larger. Something that would eventually lead to the United Nations recognizing her as one of the top 50 leaders in the world who is transforming health and wellbeing for aging populations, thanks to her work through the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living.

In 2022, the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living tapped industry executive Murry Mercier to give the institute’s inaugural senior living lecture during the Carson College’s Hospitality Week. His address “Living with Dementia: Hospitality, Home, and Relationships” revealed insights on how he developed a deep regard for seniors and established a successful career in the senior living industry. As a toddler, Mercier often went to work with his grandmother who looked after him while she managed a nursing home. He formed a connection with the residents that stayed with him for life.

Shelly Fritz, associate professor of nursing at WSU Vancouver, is the first to be officially appointed to the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living as an affiliate faculty member. Her 30-plus years in nursing and expertise with smart home health technologies supports the GCISL’s focus on solving real-life problems in senior living communities.

Nancy Swanger, founding director of the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living, along with her colleagues, were featured in “Senior Living: Communities of Care,” a video highlighting the expertise and dedication of the senior living sector. The video debuted this fall as part of Argentum’s national senior living campaign launched at the Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference and Expo in Phoenix. It highlights the expertise and dedication of the senior living sector and its commitment to providing safety, dignity, and quality of life for the residents they serve. Watch video