Iris Chi, a professor at the USC School of Social Work, was named honorary associate director of the Sau Po Centre on Ageing at the University of Hong Kong in recognition of her career accomplishments and commitment to improving the quality of life and welfare of the elderly.

Launched in 1999 while Chi was a professor at the University of Hong Kong, the centre focuses on bolstering the lives of older people through research, education and policy advocacy. Chi served as director for the centre from 1999 to 2004 and has been a senior advisor since 2009.

“It feels great that my old school still treasures my contributions to the field of aging,” said Chi, who spent 17 years at the University of Hong Kong. “I hope to help countries in Asia find ways to deal with the challenges of [their] rapidly aging population by working with their policymakers, academics and researchers.”

Chi will now take on a more advisory role and give presentations at the centre’s international conferences.

“The needs of older adults in modern society tend to be overlooked,” said Chi, who has participated in more than 60 studies and published more than 150 articles on elderly health and gerontology. “Nonetheless, they have contributed so much to build the society for us to live in comfortably nowadays. If we want to be treated well when we grow old, we need to build a caring society now.”

Chi is the Chinese-American Golden Age Association/Frances Wu Chair for the Chinese Elderly at the School of Social Work, where she oversees the China Program. She also holds a joint appointment in the USC Davis School of Gerontology.