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The effort to coordinate and promote the energies of agencies, organizations, and individuals connected to the field of gerontology, the study of aging, is an important step for the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, along with other participating groups. The Western Wisconsin and Chippewa Valley region is aging as fast, if not faster than, the rest of the country. Issues facing the elderly, such as housing, health insurance, retirement on fixed incomes, and living with chronic illness are constantly in the national news, making all of us sensitive to the special needs and rights of older persons.

The Advisors on Gerontological Education (AGE) was created, through a regional seed grant from the Minnesota Area Geriatric Center (MAGEC), to enhance and improve the available options and services of existing providers. AGE promotes a multi-disciplinary educational component within the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire and with local providers and volunteers in the aging network. Emphasis is placed on collaborative, coordinated activities that will complement the existing infra structure of providers, quasi-governmental agencies, related senior service arrangements, and other gerontological educational activities. One of the early endeavors of AGE was the "Aging Summit", a conference held in May 2001 aimed at determining how the center could aid in meeting the current and future educational needs of the region. Since its conception in 2001, the Aging Summit has been an annual event in the Chippewa Valley.