Barbara Hawkins


Barbara Hawkins profile picture

Professor Emeritus

Email: hawkinsb@iu.edu
Address: 1025 E. 7th St.
Department: Emeriti / Retired

B.S. cum laude University of Montana 1972
M.S. University of Montana 1975
Re.D. Indiana University 1979

Research and teaching focused on the health, daily life activities, and well-being of older adults. She was nationally and internationally recognized for her research on aging-related change in adults with mental retardation, and most particularly age change in adults with Down syndrome. In 1985, she initiated a specialized research and training program on aging and developmental disabilities at the Indiana University Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities. In 1998, Dr. Hawkins with colleague Dr. Susan Eklund completed a 10 year longitudinal study of aging-related change in two panels of adults with mental retardation. Throughout her career, Hawkins and Eklund worked collaboratively on many other projects involving older adults.

After 1993, Dr. Hawkins broadened her inquiry to examine how individual behavior coupled with environmental design impact the health, daily life activities, social support, mental well-being, and material security of aging adults in the general population. She initiated and led a collaboration with scholars from more than 15 countries world-wide in a Global Ageing Research Network. She led the conceptual development and empirical testing of a model for daily life activity, (2) the development of an index for assessing individual aging well, and (3) the development of a system and instrument for evaluating environmental design including training protocols for Qualified Assessors (Designing Environments for Active Living). She had a long career leading multi-disciplinary teams and initiating innovative projects that addressed the needs and interests of older adults and persons with disabilities.

Professional Experience:

  • Professor (tenured), School of HPER, Indiana University
  • Director of the Center on Aging and Aged, Indiana University
  • Director, Program on Aging and Developmental Disabilities, Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities, Indiana University
  • Fellow, Academy of Leisure Sciences
  • Fellow, Association for Gerontology in Higher Education
  • President of the Society of Park and Recreation Educators
  • Editor, Therapeutic Recreation Journal
  • Principal Investigator of more than $2 million dollars in research grant funding
  • SPRE Presidential Citation for Leadership Service
  • 2004 HPER Outstanding Researcher Award, Indiana University
  • Presidential Award and Citation for Outstanding Service, National Therapeutic Recreation Society
  • Innovations in Aging Award, Leisure and Aging Section, National Recreation and Park Association
  • Assistant Professor, University of Maine, Orono, Maine

Hawkins, B.A. (1999). Rights, place of residence, and retirement: Lessons from case studies on aging. In S. Herr & G. Weber (Eds.). Aging, rights, and quality of life for older persons with developmental disabilities. Book chapter. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.


Selected Publications from academic career; *refereed

Teague, M.L., McGhee, V.L., & Hawkins, B.A. (2000). Geriatric practice. In D.R. Austin & M.B. Crawford (Eds.), Therapeutic recreation service: An introduction (3rd ed.). Book chapter. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Hawkins, B.A. (2000). Autism. In D.R. Austin & M.B. Crawford (Eds.), Therapeutic recreation service: An introduction- 3nd ed. Book chapter. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Hawkins, B.A., Ardovino, P., Rogers, N.B., Foose, A., & Ohlsen, N. (2002). Leisure Assessment Inventory. Includes assessment instrument and instructional manual with scoring and analysis guidelines. Ravensdale, WA: Idyll Arbor.

Hawkins, B.A. (2009). Active living in older adulthood: Principles and practices of activity programs. Textbook. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

Hawkins, B.A. & Moody, H.R. (2010). Chapter 26. Work, leisure, and health: Re-visioning retirement in the 21st century. In G. Godbey, B. Ainsworth, & L. Payne (Eds.), Leisure, Health and Wellness: Making the Connections. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

*Hawkins, B.A., Eklund, S.J., James, D.R., & Foose, A.K. (2003). Adaptive behavior and cognitive function of adults with Down syndrome: Modeling change with age. Mental Retardation, 41(1), 7-28.

Hawkins, B.A. (2005). Gray Panthers. In N.J. Salkind, K. DeRuyck, & K.R. Rasmussen (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human Development. SAGE Publications.

Hawkins, B.A. (2005). Aging well. In N.J. Salkind, K. DeRuyck, & K.R. Rasmussen (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human Development. SAGE Publications.

Hawkins, B.A. (2009). Active living in older adulthood: Principles and practices of activity programs. Textbook. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

*Hawkins, B.A. (2012/13). Designing parks and recreation facilities to promote active living by older adults: Project DEAL. Rimini 2012 World Leisure Congress, Book of Abstracts, Rimini, Italy, Andre Thibault, Editor. Cedar Falls, Iowa: World Leisure Organization.

*Hawkins, B.A. (2012/13). Conceptualizing and Measuring “Daily Life Activity.” Rimini 2012 World Leisure Congress, Book of Abstracts, Rimini, Italy, Andre Thibault, Editor. Cedar Falls, Iowa: World Leisure Organization.

Heller, T., Janicki, M., & Hawkins, B. (2005). Chapter 13. Healthy aging and community participation. In C. Lakin & A.P. Turnbull (Eds.), National goals for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Washington: American Association on Mental Retardation. Pp. 311-332.

Hawkins, B. (Summer 2003). CAA Research Focus: Living well, aging well. In Indiana University Center on Aging and Aged Newsletter, p. 7.

Hawkins, B.A. (Spring 2003). Ageing well: Construct genesis and ideology. In Global Ageing Initiative Newsletter, Vol. 1, pp. 1-2.

Hawkins, B.A. (April-May 2004). Living in an ageing world: The Global Ageing Initiative. Intercom – Newsletter of the International Federation on Ageing, Vol. 10, No. 11, pp.

*Hawkins, B.A., Foose, A.K., & Binkley, A.L. (2004). Contribution of leisure to the life satisfaction of older adults in Australia and the United States. World Leisure Journal.

*Hawkins, B.A. (2005). Aging well: Toward a way of life for all people. CDC Preventing Chronic Disease, Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy. Online, refereed journal, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Public Health Service.

*Hawkins, B.A., Foose, A.K., Binkley, A.L., Cheung, S.Y., Harahousou, V., & Lamura, G. (September 2007). Satisfaction with life in old age: The contribution of leisure in five countries. Journal of the International Federation of Parks and Recreation Administration.

Hawkins, B.A., Voreis, J., Hill, J., Myllykangas, S., & Spangler, K. (March 2007). CEPAE – A tool for change. Parks and Recreation, pp. 71-76.

Hawkins, B.A. & Moody, H.R. (2010). Chapter 26. Work, leisure, and health: Re-visioning retirement in the 21st century. In G. Godbey, B. Ainsworth, & L. Payne (Eds.), Leisure, Health and Wellness: Making the Connections. State College, PA: Venture Publishing, Inc.

*Hawkins, B.A., & Myllykangas, S.M. (2010). Designing Environments for Active Living, Symposium on Ageing Well: International Perspectives of Research into Practice, Research Abstracts. World Leisure Organization Congress, ChunCheon, So. Korea.

*Hawkins, B.A., & Kim, K. (2010). Concept development and an empirical test of a model for Daily Life Activity. Symposium on Ageing Well: International Perspectives of Research into Practice, Research Abstracts. World Leisure Organization Congress, ChunCheon, So. Korea.

*Hawkins, B.A. (2010). Living Well – Aging Well: Probabilities and Possibilities - What the Research Tells Us. Symposium on The Diversity of Leisure in Later Life, Research Abstracts. World Leisure Organization Congress, ChunCheon, So. Korea.

Hawkins, B.A., Hutchinson, S.L., & Merrick, J. (2011). Leisure across the life course. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 10(2), 95–96.

*Hawkins, B.A., Miller, T.K., Kim, K., & Saunders, M.V. (2012). Conceptual and measurement model for Daily Life Activity. International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 11(1), 67-73.

Hawkins, B.A., & Myllykangas, S.A. (2012 version 2.0). Designing Environments for Active Living. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University. Research Instrument.

Torabi, M. & Hawkins, B.A. with the assistance of Skirvin, D. (2015) A Legacy Transformed – The Story of HPER and the Birth of the School of Public Health – Bloomington. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.