COLLEGE PARK, MD (September 2004) — As adults reach different stages in their lives, they are faced with an array of challenges and transitions which can often lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and confused.

Dr. Schlossberg

Nancy K. Schlossberg, Ed.D., an expert in the areas of adult transitions, career development, adults as learners, and intergenerational relationships, will address these challenges and discuss managing change at the inaugural presentation Oct. 28 of the First Annual Distinguished Lecturer Series by the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services.

The lecture begins at 3 p.m. at the University of Maryland Golf Course Clubhouse. It will be followed by a 4 p.m. reception and book-signing. The Schlossberg presentation kicks off a new annual lecture series being launched by the department to highlight distinguished scholars and practitioners from the counseling and psychology fields.

Schlossberg’s lecture will draw from her most recent book, Retire Smart, Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path. She will share insights from her life’s work on how career upheavals, changes in marital status, children leaving home, or other life challenges can create uncertainty and anxiety as they are often unexpected or outside of one’s control. According to Schlossberg, there are ways to respond to changes that can help individuals gain confidence, ease the transitions and even thrive as part of navigating life’s transitions.

Nancy K. Schlossberg, Ed.D., is past president of the National Career Development Association, president of a consulting group TransitionWorks. She is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services in the College of Education. She previously served on the faculties of Wayne State University, Howard University, and the Pratt Institute. She was the first woman executive at the American Council of Education (ACE) where she established the Office of Women in Higher Education (1973).

In addition to her 2004 book, Retire Smart: Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path, she is the author of the following: the 2001 edition of Getting the Most Out of College (Arthur Chickering, first author, Prentice Hall); a March, 2000 edition of her trade book Overwhelmed: Coping With Life’s Ups and Downs (Nippon Manpower Shuppan Co.) and a 1999 edition published in the United States (Lexington Books, 1989, 1999); Counseling Adults in Transition, 2nd Edition (with Elinor Waters & Jane Goodman, Springer Press, 1995); the trade book Going to Plan B: How You Can Cope, Regroup, and Start Your Life on a New Path, which was a final nominee for Books for a Better Life,(with Susan P. Robinson, Simon & Schuster, 1996). Earlier books include Improving Higher Education Environments for Adults (with Ann Lynch & Arthur Chickering, Jossey-Bass, 1989), and Perspectives on Counseling Adults (with Lillian Troll & Zandy Leibowitz, Krieger Publishing Co., 1986 reprint).

Schlossberg has delivered more than 100 keynote addresses including one at the Japan Career Development Association, the Council of Presidents of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Counselors’ Association, and the Smithsonian/American Psychological Association’s series on mid-life. She has appeared on PBS’ In the Prime, Derek McGinty’s national talk radio show, Fox News, CNN Sonia Live, CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, the NBC Knowledge Series, and two PBS/College Board live video-conferences.

Her honors and awards include: honorary member, Japan Career Development Advisory Committee; First Vice-President, Sarasota Friends of the Library; Board, Asolo Theatre Company; Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota (1998-2001); Board of Management, Cosmos Club (1996-1998); University of Maryland’s Women of Distinction; first visiting endowed chair in Adult Career Development at the University of Minnesota; Walter Storey Career Development Professional Award of the American Society for Training and Development; delegate and alternate delegate to two White House Conferences on Aging; Fellow, three divisions of the American Psychological Association (APA); Fellow, Gerontological Association; APA’s G. Stanley Hall Lecturer on Adult Development; and Distinguished Scholar at the University of Maryland. She received honors and awards from The National Career Development Association, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and American College Personnel Association (ACPA).

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