By Susan Wampler
USC Executive Vice President and Provost C. L. Max Nikias presented the inaugural Pearmain Prize in Research on Aging to Kyriakos S. Markides—a leading scholar on aging and health issues—at USC Town & Gown on Feb. 16 as part of a celebration of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging.
Sponsored by the USC School of Social Work, which houses the interdisciplinary institute, the event was co-hosted by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard. The institute is named for her father, the late Edward R. Roybal, who served in Congress for 30 years and was a national leader in establishing services for the aging.
“My father’s interest in the needs of minority aging persons, his sensitivity to the consequences of poor health and poor housing, his long period of political leadership and his special presence on the local and national stage as a person of Latino heritage have left a profound legacy,” she said. “I have no doubt the expertise reflected in the scholars who are here today will benefit the aging, especially those who have been most marginalized or ignored.”
Referring to William Vega, the institute’s newly appointed executive director, Roybal-Allard added, “We are very proud that the university has been able to recruit one of our nation’s greatest Latino scholars to lead the Roybal Institute.”