Empowerment for End of Life and How Best to Get There!

Distinquished Presenter

Marilyn R. Gugliucci, MA, PhD 

Professor & Director, Geriatrics Education and Research, Division of Geriatrics, University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine

President, Gerontological Society of America

Description of this Event

Aging, dying, and death are blanketed by misconceptions socially constructed within our society.  These misconceptions, often viewed as truth or reality, tend to limit our access to opportunities and create barriers that affect our thinking, communication, and action. Time to step over that body!  This session will dispel some misconceptions and pave a path for effective communication to support action throughout our aging processes and at end of life ~ whenever that may be.

At the end of this presentation, attendees will…

1.  Be cognizant of how our society socially constructed dying and death  
2. Have access to tools to augment communication on dying and death with loved ones
3. Understand how the self, interpersonal and societal ageism affects living and dying

Dr. Gugliucci offered the same presentation at Graves Memorial Library in Kennebunkport last year and has followed up with gatherings every other month - entitled The Death Cafe.  Dr. Gugliucci will share a little bit about this experience after her presentation. 

Over the last several years these gatherings have been held in libraries (and other locations) all over the world. Other libraries in Maine have been sharing ideas for their own gatherings. YPL may also consider doing this depending on interest.

About the Presenter

Dr. Gugliucci (Marilyn) is the daughter of a former star first baseman (her mother) and an exceptionally gifted cook (her father). She has inherited fierce conscientiousness, unflagging optimism and only moderately bridled enthusiasm. She is a Professor & Director of Geriatrics Education and Research at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) and founding director of U-ExCEL, an older adult fitness program. She has been in these roles since she had black hair.  Her goal in life is to change the world… effecting change so that aging is embraced.

Her unique Learning by Living UNECOM Research Projects offer two tracks: (1) The Nursing Home Immersion that "admits" medical students into nursing homes to live the life of a resident for 2-weeks; and (2) The 48 Hour Hospice Home Immersion where pairs of medical students live in an 18-bed in-patient acute care hospice home to conduct patient care, family support, and post-mortem care.  She also conducts research on older adult falls/proprioception and the use of Virtual Reality as a learning modality. 

Dr. Gugliucci is a Fellow of four national associations. She served as the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education president (2008-2010) and is serving The Gerontological Society of America as vice-president (2024), president (2025), and board of directors’ chair (2026). Marilyn serves on a number of local and national boards; has been recognized with a number of state and national awards for her research and teaching; lectures both nationally and internationally; and has multiple publications in the field of aging.