Texas State University professor Chris Johnson has been named the honorary chairman of a local Alzheimer’s Texas Walk, an annual fundraiser to promote awareness of the disease and generate support for dementia care programs.

The ninth Annual Hays County Alzheimer’s Texas Walk will be held Oct. 15 in San Marcos. It is organized by Alzheimer’s Texas, a group that has supported Central Texans affected by dementia for more than 30 years.

Johnson, clinical professor of sociology in dementia and aging studies at Texas State, specializes in studying Alzheimer’s disease and other kinds of dementia.

“[At the Alzheimer’s Walk] you get support from others that are going through the same thing, so it’s a networking function as well,” Johnson said. “Having information is empowering, when they know what to expect ahead of time.”

Johnson helped develop the dementia and aging studies program at Texas State, the first of its kind in the United States.

“One of the major focuses of this program is dementia education,” he said. “We’re the leader in America in dementia education. There’s not another dementia studies program in America. There’s 17 in Europe.”

For more information, visit http://p2p.charityengine.net/txalzhayscowalk.