Schwartz selected as Baynes Distinguished Scholar
The East Carolina University College of Health and Human Performance is proud to announce that Dr. Abby Schwartz, a scholar in the disciplines of social work and gerontology, has been selected for the esteemed Carolyn Freeze Baynes Distinguished Professorship. This honor recognizes Schwartz’s productivity in research, teaching and service to date, as well as her capacity to continue to make a positive impact through her scholarly activities.
Schwartz’s career at ECU began in 2015. She served as the Bachelor of Social Work program director for 4 years and is coordinator of the gerontology program (minor and certificate), and co-director of the Office of Healthy Aging. In addition to her campus and field leadership roles, publications and external funding record, Schwartz is well-known and respected for her expertise in gerontology. She was selected for the Victor W. Marshall Fellow award in Applied Gerontology (Southern Gerontological Society) and earned Fellow status with the Gerontological Society of America. Schwartz will soon begin her term as president-elect of the Southern Gerontological Society, an organization with an international reach that bridges aging research and practice, with special attention to addressing the South’s unique aging-related challenges.
Schwartz is passionate about quality of life for older adults and families, and how social determinants of health and cumulative disadvantage impact individuals’ aging process and experiences. Her research agenda focuses on health disparities and increasing access to healthcare for communities in our region to improve health and human services outcomes. Integral to her externally funded grants is the inclusion of colleagues from various disciplines, and the development of robust academic-community partnerships that also bring in community leaders and citizens to achieve impactful change.
The Carolyn Freeze Baynes Distinguished Professorship Program in the College of Health and Human Performance was made possible by a generous donation made by Charles and Hazel Freeze of Mooresville, in honor of their late daughter, Carolyn Freeze Baynes. Ms. Carolyn Freeze Baynes was known widely for her intelligence, compassion and community uplifting. Deeply committed to her family and community, she became an ardent supporter of ECU programs through the influence of her husband Michael R. Baynes, an ECU alumnus. Soon after her retirement from state service, she was diagnosed with cancer, and she was lost to the disease in 1999. The professorship affords HHP’s School of Social Work the opportunity to recruit and/or retain an eminent scholar, at the associate professor or professor rank.
As part of the Carolyn Freeze Baynes Distinguished Scholar designation, Schwartz will facilitate and promote interdisciplinary research in aging and continue to connect colleagues and organizations in research and community-based program endeavors that improve health and human services outcomes and enhance well-being for all. As a proactive resource for the School of Social Work, HHP and the university, she also will develop OHA and gerontology program efforts to position ECU as a leader in aging research and education.