BOSTON, August 7 — Elderhostel, Inc. is pleased to award the 2006 Elderhostel K. Patricia Cross Doctoral Research Grant to Molly Harrod, a doctoral candidate at Wayne State University in Detroit. This competitive $5,000 scholarship honors the work of Dr. K. Patricia Cross, former Elderhostel Board Member and Professor Emerita at the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. Elderhostel, a leader in the field of lifelong learning, is the world’s largest not-for-profit educational travel organization for older adults.

Elderhostel awards this merit-based grant to a doctoral student studying education, psychology, gerontology, social work, or a related discipline, whose doctoral research will have a significant impact on the field of lifelong or later-life learning. Harrod received her Bachelor of Arts degree at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich. and a Master of Arts degree in medical anthropology at Wayne State University. Harrod will also be receiving her doctorate in medical anthropology from Wayne State University, and her dissertation research is based on an ethnographic study of older adults learning and using technology, namely the computer and Internet, and how they incorporate this technology into their everyday lives.

“My interest in studying this population stems from a desire to learn why and how older adults are learning to use technology and what impact it has on their lives,” says Harrod. “I am honored and grateful to receive this scholarship. It will allow me to complete my dissertation and also provide me the opportunity to publish the results in the hopes that other researchers, including myself, can build on the findings in order to further understand the learning abilities of the aging population, especially as it relates to technology.”

Harrod was selected as the Elderhostel K. Patricia Cross Doctoral Research Grant winner by a committee made up of Peter J. Whitehouse, professor of neurology, cognitive science and organizational behavior at Case Western Reserve University and founder of the Intergenerational School; Joseph Coughlin, founding director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; P. David Pearson, dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley; Mike Zoob, senior advisor to the president of Elderhostel; and K. Patricia Cross herself.

“Elderhostel was founded on the idea that learning is important and enriching at every stage of life,” said Zoob. “We are delighted to offer this scholarship to Molly as part of the next generation of leaders in the field of lifelong learning.”

Elderhostel, founded in 1975, is the world’s largest not-for-profit educational travel organization for older people. More than 160,000 participants enroll in Elderhostel’s nearly 8,000 programs annually. Elderhostel provides exceptional learning adventures throughout the United States and Canada and in more than 90 countries around the world. In 2004, Elderhostel launched Road Scholar to meet the needs of a new generation of independent educational travelers. For more information, please visit www.elderhostel.org or www.roadscholar.org.