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Maria Henke is the Senior Associate Dean of the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, the oldest and largest school of gerontology in the world. She is also the Co-director of the Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center.

In her role, Henke oversees all academic programs and student affairs and has grown both the size of the student population and the range of program offerings at the top-ranked school. Programs include the Master of Arts in Gerontology, the first online program to be accredited in the western U.S.; the Master of Long Term Care Administration, a groundbreaking tri-departmental online program; and the Master of Aging Services Management. She recently launched two innovative new programs; the Master of Medical Gerontology and the Master of Senior Living Hospitality.

Henke has also been responsible for developing USC Leonard Davis School education and training programs with specialized content for educational and corporate partners including the Yamano Beauty College in Tokyo, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Hartford Insurance Group.

Since joining the USC Leonard Davis School in 1987, Henke has authored or co-authored several scholarly articles on gerontology education, focusing on distance learning gerontology program research and development and tailoring programs for the educational needs of working professionals. She has been invited to present at several conferences on the topics of innovation in gerontology education and falls prevention and home modification programs.

In addition to her work with the USC Leonard Davis School, Henke served as a part-time faculty member in the human services department from 2004 to 2006 at California State University, Fullerton, where she taught program evaluation and proposal writing.

She has been the recipient of several awards, including the 2006 Cal State Fullerton Human Services Department Outstanding Faculty Award and the 2002 USC Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center Staff Member of the Year award.

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