College of Health Professions

Education

• PhD in Health Related Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University
• MS in Gerontology, Virginia Commonwealth University
• MBA in Healthcare Administration, George Washington University
• MSc in Housing and Strategic Management, University of Wales, Cardiff
• Post-Graduate Diploma in Housing Management, University of Wales, Cardiff
• BA in Art History, George Washington University

Bio

Jenny Inker, Ph.D. is an associate professor of gerontology, the co-program director for the Assisted Living Administration Concentration in the M.S. in Gerontology program and the Director of Curriculum Development. She is a licensed Assisted Living Administrator in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dr. Inker teaches Social Gerontology and Aging and Human Values (ethics). She also supervises masters students completing their Assisted Living Residency and doctoral students in the Health Related Sciences PhD program. She co-leads a number of popular workforce training programs, including best practices in long-term care administration, ethics workshops and an exam preparation class for the Residential Care Assisted Living (RCAL) national exam. She has extensive leadership and management experience in senior living management in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Research Interests

Research interests include disrupting ageism in long-term care settings through workforce development and leadership, deepening our understanding of elderhood as a distinct life stage and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), with a focus on evidence-based pedagogical practices, student engagement and curriculum design in gerontological education.

Highlights

• Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching, College of Health Professions, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2025
• Applied Gerontologist Award, Southern Gerontological Society, 2023
• American Society on Aging Ageism and Culture Award for Success in Diminishing Ageism, 2023 (team award)
• Innovative Research on Aging Gold Award, Mather Institute, 2021
• Innovative Research on Aging Bronze Award, Mather Institute, 2021
• Virginia Commonwealth University College of Health Professions Service Award, 2021
• Outstanding Research Paper Award, Seniors Housing and Care Journal, 2020
• Master of Gerontology Student of the Year, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014

Publications/projects

Books

• Inker, J. & Pryor, J. (under contract). The essential handbook of assisted living administration. Health Professions Press.

Book Chapters and Encyclopedia Entries

• MacDonald, C., Peoples, C., Inker, J., & Gendron, T. (in press). Age, ageism, and ageist language. In  J. Setter, S. Dovchin, & V.A. Ramjattan, Eds.) Oxford handbook of language and prejudice. Oxford University Press.
• Inker, J. & Constant, B. (in press). The social construction of elderhood. In  T. Gendron (Ed.) Disrupting ageism: From theory to practice. Elsevier.
• Inker, J., Price, A., Hoskin, D., & Gendron, T. (in press). Introduction to ageism. In  T. Gendron (Ed.) Disrupting ageism: From theory to practice. Elsevier.
• McSweeney-Feld, M.H., Inker, J., & Pryor, J. (2023). Dimensions of long-term care. In M.H. McSweeney-Feld, C. Molinari, & R. Oetjen (Eds.), Dimensions of long-term care management: An introduction (3rd edition), Health Administration Press.
• McSweeney-Feld, M.H., Inker, J., & Pryor, J. (2023). Residential settings for long-term care services. In M.H. McSweeney-Feld, C. Molinari, & R. Oetjen (Eds.), Dimensions of long-term care management: An introduction (3rd edition), Health Administration Press.

Refereed Journal Articles Published

• Inker, J. (2024). Ethics and the development of professional identity, Senior Care Pharmacist, 39(12), 438-440.
• Inker, J. & Forder, M.J. (2024). "I feel more in control of my learning experience:" Ungrading as an empowering approach to competency-based gerontological teaching and learning, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, October 31, 2024.
• Cohen, T., Inker, J., Dempsey, M., Legg, J., & Gendron, T.  (2024). Effect of educational module on radiologic science students’ attitudes toward working with older adults. Radiation Therapist, 33(1), 1-8.
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., & Marrs, S. (2024). Generational bias: Another form of ageism. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 4(98), 284-299.
• Gendron, T., Camp, A., Amateau, G., Mullen, M., Jacobs, K., Inker, J., & Marrs, S. (2024). The next critical turn for ageism research: The intersections of ageism and ableism. The Gerontologist, 64(2), 1-7, https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad062
• Inker, J., MacDonald, C., Forder, M., Arnette, S., & Waters, L. (2023, December 21). Pushing Back Against AI: Using Ungrading to Promote Critical Thinking and Intrinsic Motivation, [Paper] Innovation in Aging, Volume 7, Issue Supplement_1, December 2023, Pages 324–325, https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igad104.1082
• Marrs, S., Inker, J., McIntyre, M., Waters, L., & Gendron, T. (2023). “I like being young, active, alive”: First-year medical students’ attitudes to their own aging, Gerontology and Geriatrics Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2023.2184811
• Gendron, T., Cimarolli, V.R., Inker, J., Rhodes, A., Hennessa, A., & Stone, R. (2021). The efficacy of a video-based intervention to reduce ageism among long-term services and supports staff. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, doi.org/10.1080/02701960.2021.1880904.
• Inker, J.L., Pryor, J.M., Arbogast, C., Op De Beke, M., & Okhravi, H. (2020). “Can you just give us something to help her?” Off-label use of antipsychotic medication in Virginia Assisted Living Facilities. Seniors Housing and Care Journal. Outstanding Research Paper Award.
• Inker, J.L., Jensen, C.J., Barsness, S., & Stewart, M (2020). Implementing Microlearning in nursing homes: Implications for policy and practice in person centered dementia care. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 40(9), 1062-1070.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464820929832
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., Andricosky, R., & Zanjani, F. (2019). Development of the Relational Ageism Scale: Confirmatory Test on Survey Data. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 90(3), 281-296.
• Sperling, S.A., Brown, D.S., Jensen, C., Inker, J., Mittelman, M.S., Manning, C.A. (2020). FAMILIES: An effective healthcare intervention for caregivers of community dwelling people living with dementia, Aging and Mental Health, 24(10), 1700-1708.
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., & Welleford, E.A. (2018). “How old do you feel?” The difficulties and ethics of operationalizing subjective age. The Gerontologist, 58(4), 618-624.
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., & Welleford, E.A. (2018). A Theory of Relational Ageism: A Discourse Analysis of the 2015 White House Conference on Aging. The Gerontologist, 58(2), 242-250.
• Jensen, C., Inker, J., & Gendron, T. (2016). Supporting Patients and Peers Who Are Family Caregivers. Journal of Family Medicine.
• Gendron, T.L., Welleford, E.A., Inker, J., White, J.T. (2016). The language of ageism: Why we need to use words carefully. The Gerontologist, 56(6), 997-1006.
• Jensen, C. & Inker, J. (2014). The Dementia Care Triad: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and Linking to Resources. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias doi: 10.1177/1533317514545476.

Projects

• Evaluator: Developing a Palliative Care Pathway: An innovative standard of care for people living with dementia and their care team. Martha W. Goodson Center, Riverside Health System, Administration for Community Living, $99,000, Funding Period: September 2023 - August 2026.
• Principal Investigator: Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Carolina Opinions on Care of Older Adults (COCOA) Instrument: A Replication Study. Virginia Commonwealth University College of Health Professions, $4,000, Funding Period: November 2020 -  October 2021.
• Principal Investigator: The Development of an Age Inclusive Toolkit for Senior Living. The Retirement Research Foundation, $100,000, Funding Period: June 2020 - May 2022.
• Co-Principal Investigator: Alzheimer’s Disease Behavioral Risk Reduction. Virginia Commonwealth University Presidential Research Quest Fund, $50,000, Funding Period: July 2019 - July 2020.
• Co-Principal Investigator: Health Coaching to Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Research Award Fund, $44,440, Funding Period: July 2019 - July 2020.
• Principal Investigator: iExcel Education Program 2019, Virginia Commonwealth University Division for Inclusive Excellence, $3,500, Funding Period: January 2019 - August 2019.
• Co-Principal Investigator: Disrupting Ageism in the Senior Living Continuum: Developing an Evidence Base to Support the Video Training Intervention on Ageism (VIA), Retirement Research Foundation, $92,068, Funding Period: January 1 - December 31, 2019.
• Evaluator: Enhancing Dementia-Capable Virginia Through Novel Service Implementation (90ALGG0014-01-00): 2017 ADI-SSS sub-award from University of Virginia, May 2018 - September 2021.
• Principal Investigator: Use of Antipsychotic Medications by Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living Facilities. Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia Award Fund, $44,449, Funding Period: July 2016 - July 2017.