Fernando Torres-Gil, UCLA professor of social welfare and public policy and director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, has been named to the California Social Work Hall of Distinction by the California Social Welfare Archives. The honor recognizes those involved in bringing about the betterment of society, ensuring that the contributions of social work leaders, innovators and pioneers will be recognized and preserved for the future.
Torres-Gil’s multifaceted career spans the academic, professional, and policy arenas. In addition to teaching in the Luskin School, he has served as associate dean and acting dean at the Luskin School and, most recently, as chair of the Social Welfare Department. His research spans important topics of health and longterm care, disability, entitlement reform and the politics of aging. He has written over l00 publications and six books, including "The New Aging: Politics and Change in America" (1992) and "Lessons from Three Nations, Volumes I and II" (2007). His academic contributions have earned him membership in the prestigious Academies of Public Administration, Gerontology and Social Insurance.
He was appointed as the first Assistant Secretary for Aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by President Clinton. Serving in that post as the administration’s chief advocate on aging, he played a key role in promoting the importance of the issues of aging, longterm care and disability; in consolidating federal programs for the elderly; and in helping baby boomers redefine retirement in a post-pension era.
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