Institute of Gerontology About us
The Institute of Gerontology was founded in 1986 by Prof. Dr phil. Dr h.c. mult. Ursula Lehr - former Federal Minister - and was headed from 1997 to 2021 by Prof. Dr phil. Dr h.c. Dipl.-Psych. Andreas Kruse. Prof Dr Eric Schmitt is currently the provisional director of the institute.
The Institute of Gerontology was founded in 1986 as part of Ursula Lehr's appointment to the university as the first such institute at a German-speaking university on behalf of the state of Baden-Württemberg. In 1991, the Institute received the status of a WHO Collaborating Centre, which further strengthened the international and interdisciplinary orientation in research and teaching from the very beginning. The work carried out at the Institute of Gerontology on basic and intervention research has significantly advanced the understanding of development processes, challenges and possibilities for shaping normal ageing and its pronounced heterogeneity in science, politics and society. The range of courses on offer included the first interdisciplinary postgraduate course in gerontology and participation in a European Master's programme in cooperation with universities in the Netherlands, France, Great Britain and Spain.
