Melissa A. Hardy 

photo of Melissa Hardy

Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Human Development and Family Studies

Contact Information

502 Oswald Tower
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park PA 16802

814-867-4337

(fax) 814-863-7216

mah38@psu.edu

www.sociology.psu.edu/people/faculty/hardy.shtml

Teaching Interests

Quantitative Analysis Techniques

Longitudinal Methods

Aging & Social Change

Public Policy and Aging

Social Inequality

Research Interests

Work and Retirement, including the influence of organizational incentives, pensions, family decision-making, health, job satisfaction; Public Policy, including Social Security, the Age Discrimination and Employment Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Medicare and Medicaid; Political Attitudes, including analysis of social change and individual aging; Women's Issues and Aging, including poverty and financial security, caregiving, long-term care, intergenerational assistance, and health; Cognitive Components of Saving and Investment behavior, including planning horizon, discounting, risk tolerance, deferred gratification; Older Workers, including training, displacement, work schedules, job demands, organizational incentive structures.

Current Research Projects

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. "Workforce aging in the new economy: A comparative study of information technology employment" (Julie A. McMullin, PI; Victor Marshall, Joann Marshall, University of North Carolina; Neil Charness, Florida State University). October 2002 - September 2006.

NIH, "Gene and Environmental Influences on SES and Health." (Co-PI; George Vogler, PI). September 2004 - August 2006.

NIA, "Center on Population Health and Aging." (Co-Investigator; Duane Alwin, PI). August 2004 - July 2008.

Education

B.A., 1974, Sociology, Albright College, Reading, PA
M.A., 1976, Sociology, Indiana University
Ph.D., 1980, Sociology, Indiana University

Specializations

Member, Phi Kappa Phi, 2002.

Professorial Excellence Award, Florida State University, 1999.

Outstanding Conference Paper, Third Annual GSOEP Conference (with L. Hazelrigg), Berlin, Germany, 1998.

Teaching Award, Florida State University, 1995.

Teaching Award, Department of Sociology. 1988-1989.

Florida State University: Developing Scholars Award. 1986-1987. 

Professional Experience

Chair, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America, 2005.

Director, Gerontology Center, Pennsylvania State University, 2003-2009

Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Professor of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 2003-

Courtesy Professor, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee FL 2002 - 2003

Bellamy Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 2001 - 2003

Director, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1995-2003

Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1992-1995

Professor, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1991- 2000

Director of Research, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, Florida State University, 1990-1995

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1985-1990

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 1980-1985.

Instructor, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1976-1977.

Research Assistant, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1974-1976, 1978-1979.

Professional Service (national/international)

■Chair-Elect, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America, 2005.

■Council member, American Sociological Association Section on
Methodology, 2002-2005.

■Member, National Research Council Steering Committee on Adaptive Aging, 2002-03

■Chair, Work, Retirement and Pensions, Valencia Policy Forum, Report to the Second World Assembly on Ageing, Research Agenda on Ageing for the 21st Century. Valencia, Spain. 2002.

■Chair, Section on Aging and the Life Course, American Sociological Association, 1998-1999.

■Elected Member, National Academy of Social Insurance, 1998

■Fellow, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America, 1993.

Professional Appointments

  • Editorial Board, Sociological Methodology, 2005-
  • Member, International Advisory Committee for 2002 Gerontechnology
    Conference. Design Committee for the National Longitudinal Surveys, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001-
  • Scientific Advisory Committee, CREATE (Center for Research and
    Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement). Funded by
    National Institute on Aging, 1999-2004.
  • Executive Director of the Legislative Panel for the Study of End-of-Life
    Care, 1998-1999
  • Editorial Board, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 1998-2001, 2003-2005.
  • Editorial Board, Research on Aging, 1997-
  • Florida Commission on Government Accountability Benchmarks Revision Task Force, 1997.
  • Editorial Board, Social Forces, 1992-1995.
  • US representative for International Meeting Research Group: Aging at Work and Strategies of the firm, 1992-
  • Member of Sampling Operations Working Group for Health and Retirement Survey, conducted by the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan and funded by National Institute on Aging. 1991-92.
  • Member/Reviewer, Human Development and Aging Study Section,
    National Institutes of Health, 1988-1992.
  • Editorial Board, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 1989-93.
    Associate Editor for American Sociological Review, 1986-1989.

Selected Publications

Hardy, Melissa. (2010).  “Rethinking Retirement.”  In Handbook of the Sociology Aging and the Life Course, Richard Settersten and Jacqui Angel (Eds.).   New York, NY: Springer Publishing.

Warner, David, Mark Hayward and Melissa Hardy.  (2010)  The Retirement Life Course in America at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century.  Population Research and Policy Review.

Hardy, Melissa A. (2009).  “Income Inequality in Later Life.”  Pp. 493-518 in International Handbook of Population  Aging,  Peter Uhlenberg (ed.).  Springer-Verlag.

Wong, Jen D. and Hardy, Melissa.  (2009).  “Women’s Retirement Expectations:  How Stable Are They?”  Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 64B(1):77-86

Hardy, Melissa. (2008).  Making Work More Flexible:  Opportunities and Evidence.  Insight on the Issues 11.  AARP Public Policy Institute, Washington, DC:  AARP.

Hardy, Melissa and Lawrence Hazelrigg.  2007.  Pension Puzzles:  Social Security and the Great Debate.  New York, NY:  Russell Sage Foundation. (paperback 2010).

Danigelis, N.L., Hardy, M. and Cutler, S.  2007.  Population Aging, Intracohort Aging and Sociopolitical Attitudes.  American Sociological Review 72 (5): 812-830.

Hardy, Melissa and Alan Bryman (Editors). 2004. Handbook of Data Analysis. London: Sage, Inc.

Willson, Andrea and Melissa Hardy. 2002. "Racial Disparities in Income Security for a Cohort of Aging American Women." Social Forces.

Shuey, Kim and Melissa A. Hardy. 2003. "Assistance to Aging Parents and Parents-in-Law: Does Lineage Affect Family Allocation Decisions?" Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(2): .

Center Affiliations

  • Center for Healthy Aging

Strategic Themes

  • Human Development
  • Contexts and Social Institutions
  • Methodology