Papers of Jane Porcino, a Champion of Women’s Rights, Open for Research

Special Collections announces the opening of the Jane Porcino Collection. Dr. Porcino (1924-2008) was an internationally known author, lecturer, consultant, educator, and advocate who worked in the fields of civil rights, social work, and gerontology. She received her Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) from Stony Brook University and a Ph.D. in Gerontology from The Union Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Photograph of Jane Porcino from the Jane Porcino Collection, Special Collections, SBU Libraries.
Photograph of Jane Porcino from the Jane Porcino Collection, Special Collections, SBU Libraries.

Porcino was considered an expert on women in their middle and later years. She lectured to more than 1,500 audiences around the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. She served as a consultant for several U.S. government advisory panels on aging, founded the first international network for midlife and older women titled “The International Action Forum for Midlife and Older Women, Inc.,” and was editor of the newsletter Hot Flash: For Midlife and Older Women

She held professional academic appointments at Stony Brook University and The New School for Social Research, and was a Fellow of the Gerontology Society of America and the Brookdale Center on Aging for “significant contributions to the field of aging.” Her scholarly research focused on gerontology and health concerns for women over the age of forty. 

Porcino appeared on national and international radio and televisions programs. She published widely in the fields of her expertise. Her writings and articles were featured in The New York TimesNewsdayDaily NewsUSA TodayMs. Magazine, and Vogue. Books included Living Longer, Living Better: Adventures in Community Housing for Those in the Second Half of Life and Growing Older, Getting Better: A Handbook for Women in the Second Half of Life (both published by Continuum in 1991).

The collection was donated to Special Collections by the children of Dr. Porcino. All are welcome to consult and conduct research using the papers. Please visit the website for Special Collections for more information and to schedule an appointment.

Kristen Nyitray

Kristen Nyitray

Associate Librarian; Director, Special Collections and University Archives; and University Archivist at Stony Brook University Libraries
Contact her for research assistance with rare books, manuscript collections, historical maps, and SBU history. E-mail: kristen.nyitray@stonybrook.edu.
Kristen Nyitray
Posted in Manuscripts, Social Sciences, Special Collections & University Archives, Spotlight, Women's Studies