
Rachel Filinson, Ph.D.
Professor at Rhode Island College
BIO
Professor
Rachel Filinson graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a baccalaureate
degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and received her
M.Sc In Sociology at the University of Stirling (Scotland). She was employed as
a Research Fellow at the Medical Research Council Institute of Medical
Sociology in Aberdeen Scotland and simultaneously completed her Ph.D. in
Sociology from the University of Aberdeen. Dr. Filinson was awarded an NIMH (National
Institute of Mental Health) postdoctoral fellowship at the University of
Missouri-Columbia and a Gerontological Society of American postdoctoral
fellowship. While teaching at Purdue University in Indiana, she obtained
funding to launch a Gerontology Center. Since being hired at Rhode Island
College in 1987, she has taught a wide array of courses that focus on gerontology,
sociological theory, sociological methods, and service learning. During her
2006 sabbatical, Dr. Filinson was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King's
College London.
Dr. Filinson has published over 40 articles in scholarly journals (and a short
story) and edited a book entitled Elder Abuse: Practice and Policy. She is a co-investigator on grants funded by
HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration), Tufts Health Plan
Foundation, and The Collaborative (of Rhode Island). As coordinator of the
Gerontology Center, she has organized a yearly conference on aging held at the
College. She serves on the Board of Consulting Editors for the Journal of Elder Abuse
& Neglect,
the board of United Methodist Elder Care and is participating in statewide
efforts to enhance the age friendliness of Rhode Island. She is married with two grown daughters and lives in Providence.
- Ph.D. , Sociology | University of Aberdeen, Scotland, l982
- M.Sc., Sociology | University of Stirling, Scotland, l979
- B.A. Liberal Arts & Sciences | University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, l977