Mercedes Bern-Klug, Professor in the UI School of Social Work (CLAS), specializes in gerontology with a focus on long-term services and supports for older persons and persons with disabilities. She conducts research on how social workers and other health care providers can support older adults and their family members with the psychosocial and emotional implications of medical decision making in long-term care settings. She is co-editor of the new ebook, International Perspectives on Older Adult Social Isolation and Loneliness and of the 2024 book, Nursing Home Social Work Research, which is a collection of manuscripts developed from the national survey of nursing home social services directors, a study led by Bern-Klug. She edited the first book on palliative care nursing home social work in 2010. Her publications include recommendations to the Federal Trade Commission about communicating funeral prices to consumers, recommendations to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for improving psychosocial care in nursing homes, and she is currently undertaking a study about ways the federal government could improve communication with the public about the nursing home quality.

In addition to teaching research, she teaches “Global Aging” as part of the Aging and Longevity Studies Program in the UI School of Social Work. She has served as a demographic consultant with the Pan American Health Organization—an arm of World Health Organization. She was a Fulbright Faculty Awardee to the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. For twelve years, she led Alzheimer Support groups for spouses and adult children of persons impacted by dementia. She has served as an Iowa City Senior Center commission member, board chair of the Extend the Dream Foundation, and board member with the local Johnson County chapter of the United Nations Association. She served as director of the School of Social Work from 2020-2023 and is an active member of the Iowa Nursing Home Quality Coalition and the Csomay Center for Gerontological Excellence. She is recipient of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Faculty Achievement Award for excellence in teaching and research and has been recognized by the National Association of Social Workers for outstanding achievement in health and mental health policy. She participates in the Iowa City Senior Center’s Laughter Club.

Amy Colbert is Professor of Management & Entrepreneurship and University of Iowa Distinguished Chair in the UI Tippie College of Business. Her research focuses on the ways in which individuals connect with their work, their co-workers, their supervisors, and their organizations in ways that motivate and sustain them. She also investigates the role of individual differences and identities in shaping people’s responses to work contexts. Finally, she studies leaders, examining the factors that contribute to effective leadership and the mechanisms by which leaders achieve results. Amy has published scholarly articles on these topics in academic journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and The Leadership Quarterly.