Aging Business Management Major
Senior Living is a growing, dynamic industry where residents 55+ make their homes in independent, assisted living, or memory care communities. This residential model promotes active, social interaction among residents and their families, while providing a safe and caring environment. Managers and professional staff make a positive difference for residents and enhance the quality of their lives on a daily basis.
This major will prepare students for:
- Managerial positions and upward mobility in an industry that is nearly recession-proof
- Purposeful work on a daily basis and throughout your career
- Careers in a growing industry as the Baby Boomers move in
- Training in sound business fundamentals, with a focus on hospitality operations
- A very rewarding work-life balance
Where We Are
- Industry-driven courses and program of study focused on operational performance
- Partner with industry leaders to maintain curricular relevance and increase the number of professionals and students studying Senior Living Management
- Courses led by full-time, industry experienced instructors who connects real-world operations with best-in-class education
- Provide undergraduate students with immersive learning every semester at senior living communities
- Students gain real-world industry experience through the school’s 1,000 hour industry/ internship graduation requirement
Where the Institute Will Take Us
- Serve as a source for research that will impact daily operations, improving lives for all stakeholders
- Partner with industry leaders to maintain curricular relevance within the senior living program at Washington State University
- Put Senior Living Management at the forefront of student career options
Certificate Program
- The Institute’s Certificate Program is designed to equip professionals with the essential skills and knowledge to succeed in the dynamic senior living industry.
- The online and self-paced program allows learners to balance professional responsibilities while advancing their education.
- Participants gain a comprehensive foundational focus on business operations in senior housing and care models, sales and marketing strategies, financial and operational management, leadership, and regulatory considerations.
Who Was Granger Cobb?
Granger Cobb was a pioneer of senior living and always put people first. From owning one community in 1989 through becoming the CEO of Emeritus and a Brookdale board member, Granger was always gracious and grounded. He shared his passion for seniors and their families as a board member of industry groups such as Argentum, NIC, and ASHA as well as by teaching students in the senior living program at Washington State University. He touched countless lives, and his legacy will live on through the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living.
In the News
- Growing older, living better
- Finding the middle market: Redefining senior living for middle-income Americans
- Why every senior living community needs a gerontologist
- United Nations Recognizes Nancy Swanger among World’s Top 50 Leaders in Senior Living
- Granger Cobb Institute for the Business of Aging
- Granger Cobb Institute joins Argentum’s National Senior Living Campaign
- McNight’s 40 for 40: Granger Cobb
- WSU launches Institute for Senior Living
- Granger Cobb inducted into Senior Living Hall of Fame
- Communities for the Golden Age
Steering Committee
Industry Partners
Chris Belford
Chief Executive Officer, Sinceri Senior Living
Valori Borland
Head of People Development & Talent Management, Aegis
Matt Bromen
Human Resources Director, ERA Living
Jason Childers
Chief Operating Officer, Merrill Gardens
Adam Clark
President, Aegis Development
Patrick Dooley
Partner, One Extra Consulting
Tana Gall
President, Merrill Gardens
Bre Grubbs
Partner & Strategy Officer, Leisure Care
Ted Herzog
Partner, Tonkon Torp LLC
Paige Hoffman
Director/Consultant Sustainable Initiatives,
Cordia Senior Living
Chris Hyatt
President, New Perspective Senior Living
Bob Kramer
President & Founder at Nexus Insights. Founder & Strategic Advisor, NIC
Severine Petras
CEO & Co-Founder, Priority Life Care
Gregory Pyle
Attorney, LanePowell
Matt Reiners
Chief Growth Officer, Parasol Alliance
David Schless
President, American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA)
Mark Southern
Principal, Avalon Hospitality Partners
Leslie Symonds
National Director of Experience & Engagement, Milestone Retirement
Sarah Whitmarsh
VP of Member Engagement, Leading Age Washington
Faculty Fellows
Olusola Adesope
WSU Associate Dean for Research & External Funding, Boeing Distinguished Professor of STEM Education, Professor of Educational Psychology
Cole Allick
WSU Research Assistant Professor, Elson S Floyd College of Medicine
Amanda D. Boyd
WSU Associate Professor, The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
Michelle Carter
Professor & Division Head at the Alliance Manchester Business School
The University of Manchester
Robert Catena
WSU Associate Professor, Kinesiology & Educational Psychology
Minyoung Cerruti
WSU Assistant Professor
Architecture/Interior Design
Jeffrey Clark
WSU Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Diane Cook
WSU Regents Professor, School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Rebecca L. Cooney
WSU Scholarly Associate Professor, The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication
Lynne Cooper
Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University
Brian J. Gates
WSU Professor, College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Amy Kemp
WSU Assistant Professor, Speech & Hearing Sciences
Jenny Kim
WSU Professor, School of Hospitality Business Management
Sergey Lapin
WSU Associate Director, Program in Data Analytics
Zihui Ma
UNLV Hospitality, Assistant Professor In Residence (SHBM PhD Alumni)
Bidisha Mandal
WSU Associate Professor & Extension Economist
Thorsten Merkle
ZHAW School of Life Sciences and Facility Management
Hospitality Management Competency Group
Paola Ossola
WSU Adjunct Faculty, César Ritz Colleges, Switzerland
Shelby Ruiz
WSU Research Project Manager
Mario Saba
Founder, Higher Hospitality Academy of Switzerland
Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe
WSU Regents Professor, Department of Psychology
School of Hospitality Business Management
Affiliate Faculty
Cory Bolkan
WSU Associate Professor, Human Development
Julia Day
WSU Associate Professor of Construction Management, Director: Integrated Design & Construction Lab, School of Design and Construction
Shelly Fritz
WSU Professor of Nursing
Catherine VanSon
WSU Professor, College of Nursing
Raven Weaver
WSU Associate Professor, Department of Human Development
WSU Administrative Team
Darcie Bagott
Program Specialist
Cory Wolfenbarger
Adjunct Faculty
Nancy Swanger
Founding Director
Molly Wolniewicz
Adjunct Faculty