Faculty Directory

Jacquelyn James

Founding Director, Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work

Profile

Jacquelyn B. James, PhD is the founding director of the Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work and past co-director of the Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. Currently, she is serving as senior advisor to the Network and member of the Steering Committee. She was the principal investigator for "Solidifying the Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work as a Living Legacy" funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 2014-2022. Now retired, her research has focused on the meaning and experience of work, gender roles and stereotypes, adult development, and most recently, perceptions of older workers and emerging retirement issues. She and her colleagues have published numerous articles, opinion pieces, and five edited books. Over the last year, she has participated in a committee sponsored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine (and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) to produce a consensus report, Understanding the Aging Workforce and Employment at Older Ages, due out this spring. Dr. James is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. She is also past president of the Society for the Study of Human Development and serves on the editorial board ofWork, Aging & Retirement. She can be reached at jamesjc@bc.edu.

Selected Appointments and Awards

Appointments

  • Co-director, Center on Aging & Work January (2015– present)
  • Director of Research, Sloan Center on Aging & Work (June 1, 2009 – January, 2015)
  • Research Professor, Lynch School of Education (2004 – present)
  • Director of Research, Center for Work & Family (2004– 2009)

Awards

  • Editor's Choice Award: Ludlow, Matz-Costa, Johnson, Brown, Besen & James (2014). Measuring engagement in later life activities; Rasch-based scenario scales for work, caregiving, informal helping and volunteering. Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling.
  • Fellow, Behavioral and Social Sciences Division of the Gerontological Society of America (May, 2013)
  • Exemplary Service Award from Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (June 2000)