Dr. Laura Donorfio has been a part of the HDFS Department since 1989, receiving her MA and PhD with concentrations in adulthood, aging, and gerontology and intergenerational relationships. During graduate school, Laura’s research focused on family caregiving and filial responsibility. Laura was one of the first in her field to qualitatively capture the dyadic, lived experiences of caregiving daughters and care-receiving mothers. Laura also spent time during graduate school working with the Connecticut Departments of Education and Aging on the Connecticut Aging Awareness Project (AoA grant), developing curricula on aging and intergenerational exchange projects to promote education for, with, and about older adults in an aging society. At that time, Connecticut was one of only three states to advance generations’ education through K-12 schools. Upon graduation, Laura was recruited by The Hartford Financial Services Group (HFSG) as a corporate gerontologist and director of qualitative consumer research, conducting primary, applied research with AARP and the MIT AgeLab where she served as a visiting scientist. In this capacity, Laura utilized a myriad of qualitative methods, including facilitating over 400 focus groups nationally. One of her key research projects was a mixed-methods study with the MIT AgeLab involving a national survey of over 10,000 older drivers to help understand how they can continue driving safer for a longer period through utilizing various self-regulation strategies. Laura was featured on both WNPR’s Where We Live and the Connecticut Television Network (CT-N) to discuss this research and the health and safety implications for older drivers and families surrounding various transportation options and the decision to continue driving. During this time, Laura continued to teach at UConn and the University of Hartford. Upon leaving HFSG, Laura took a one year visiting faculty position at UConn’s A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities as a marketing director concentrating on community and political engagement and website development.
In 2004 Laura joined the HDFS department at UConn Waterbury (she believes fate was involved as she was born in Waterbury). It was the first year that students were able to complete one of four-degree programs on the regional campuses and Laura led the establishment and growth of the HDFS major. To do so, Laura worked with UConn’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) to develop a unique interactive television (iTV) platform to deliver her courses across three campuses simultaneously, while creating a physical presence, rotating between campuses. During this time, she had the unique opportunity to begin partnering with UConn Waterbury’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI, established in 2006) conducting intergenerational research and generating new and innovative intergenerational curricula and service-learning programs. Generations United Report (2024) recently featured her intergenerational programming as an exemplary in their report of intergenerational Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
Laura has been deeply involved throughout her career in leading gerontology educators internationally through the Academy of Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) and the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). She is currently the elected Chair of the AGHE member group for GSA and holds fellow status in both AGHE (2012) and GSA (2025). She started AGHE’s first Teaching Institute in 2010 and continues to organize and chair it, celebrating 15 years this November. She has chaired multiple committees and interest groups including the Intergenerational Learning Research and Community Engagement (ILRCE) and the Qualitative Research interest groups. At the departmental level, Laura helped develop the HDFS minor in gerontology.
Most recently, Laura co-led an initiative with the UConn Office of Outreach and Engagement to gain member status for UConn in the International Age-Friendly University Global Network (2025). This is an international consortium of institutions advancing policies and practices that foster healthy aging, intergenerational learning, and lifelong engagement. UConn is now among more than 120 universities globally that are reimagining higher education’s role in an aging society. UConn Joins Age-Friendly University Global Network – UConn Today.
Laura’s research interests center on education and pedagogy innovation and intergenerational programming. She is the author of numerous works, including co-authorship of the book “The Gerontology Field Placement: Internships and Practicums in Aging” (2023, Springer Publishing). She has given over 100 scholarly presentations nationally and internationally related to experiential and intergenerational learning, including a taxonomy of risk-taking relative to activities in the classroom, and innovative educational teaching platforms. As a result of appearing with her son on a reality television show called “Dragnificent!” (2020), Laura has developed a research interest on aging drag queens and how drag expression interfaces with dragism, coping, resilience, family, and generativity across the lifespan. In 2024 she was the recipient of the UConn Lavender Award in recognition of leadership for diverse communities of gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities for her work creating and implementing UConn’s first ever pride party on the Waterbury campus, now in its fourth year involving other UConn campuses, faculty and staff, and community LGBTQ+ organizations.
Laura has been honored for her many teaching accomplishments, most notably GSA’s Clark Tibbets Award (2022) given each year to one individual internationally who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of gerontology/geriatrics education. At UConn, she is a CETL Teaching Fellow (2018) and an Office of Public Engagement Service-Learning Fellow (2016) and has been awarded the CLAS Excellence in Teaching Award (Behavioral & Life Sciences, 2018), the Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (UConn Foundation Office of Alumni Relations, 2019) and the American Association of University Professors Faculty Excellence for Teaching Career (2023).
Outside of work, Laura is a certified educator for the Archdiocese of Hartford’s Adult, Teen, and Child Lures Prevention Program, having educated over 2,200 individuals on sexual predator awareness and safety. On the homefront, Laura has 25-year-old twins and an 11-year-old bearded dragon named Tina. When time allows, Laura enjoys engaging in house projects and gardening, spending time with family and friends, and having deep conversations about the intrigues and mysteries of life.