Northeast native Rachelle Zukerman is a professor at UCLA with impeccable academic credentials she's a recent Fulbright scholar and the author of four textbooks on counseling and aging.

But she also has another role that is hardly typical for an academician.

As the author of the recently published Young at Heart: The Mature Woman's Guide to Finding and Keeping Romance, she's become an unofficial Cupid for midlife women.

This Cupid dispenses very practical advice. She urges women to try discreet flirting, to be on the lookout for interesting men in the supermarket or dry cleaners, even to carry tasteful name cards so that if they meet any promising men, the guys will know how to reach them.

Zukerman, 56, firmly believes that mature women cannot simply wait for their senior Prince Charming to appear.

"Women over fifty must update their dating strategies," she says. "My approach is to encourage women to take the initiative -- but with style and taste. And the men love it!

"Women say, 'I don't want to be aggressive.' But I've yet to meet a man who wouldn't like it if a woman approached him -- if she does it with warmth and not in a threatening way."

That's why she encourages women to become "card-carrying singles" -- always ready with a supply of tasteful name cards to leave with a man they might meet unexpectedly.

The resourceful Zukerman has other practical tips.

"Make yourself approachable," she suggests. "Make sure you smile. Or wear something that's a conversation piece. Think of ways to help these guys out."

They need help, she says, because their own social skills are probably rusty.

"Often they're divorced, widowed -- out of practice," she says. "They're not used to dating behavior. I think women are in a perfect position to throw a life preserver to these men. Even a friendly smile will show him that if he approaches, she'll welcome it."

GET TO KNOW HIM!

Zukerman's focus is also on attitudes that can enhance a woman's chance for romance. For instance, she urges women not to rely on first impressions.

"Give first impressions a second chance," she emphasizes. "Don't make snap judgments. It takes time to find out if this is a man of character."

One of her success stories involves a woman who took that advice. She was a participant in one of the social workshops that Zukerman conducts to help singles polish their social skills.

In these workshops, she emphasizes her philosophy of not relying on first impressions. The woman heeded her advice.

She met a man who had an awkward style of dressing.

"His kids called him 'fashion-impaired,'" she relates.

Women would take one look at his badly matched outfits and reject him on the first date.

"But this woman gave him a second chance, and found out that he was wonderful," Zukerman says.

Now they are happily married, and she gets to choose the clothes that he wears.

But usually Mr. Wonderful does not appear right away, and that's something else mature women must keep in mind.

"In order to find that special person, you have to meet many people," Zukerman says. "Women need to be out there meeting lots of men. It's just like a job interview. It takes a number of false starts to find the right one."

Like a good coach, she urges women not to become discouraged.

"If you have a disappointing experience, you can say, 'OK, that's another one down, but I'm getting closer to the right one,'" she says. "You keep going. That's the important thing. You need to be active and out there."

That's exactly what Zukerman did during the 10 years that she was single after an early marriage ended in divorce.

BACK TO SCHOOL

She grew up in the Northeast, married at age l7, right after graduating from Northeast High School, and settled down to raise two children as a traditional wife and mother.

But soon her life took a non-traditional path. At age 32, she enrolled at Bucks County Community College, starting with just one course.

"And then I didn't stop until I had my Ph.D," says Zukerman, who earned her doctorate from Temple University at age 45.

After the divorce, she considered her options. Twelve years ago she moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in search of new challenges. In time, she became a tenured professor of social welfare at UCLA.

She bonded with a group of women friends who were the same age and looking for the right partners.

"We tried many different methods -- we went to singles events, tried personal ads, on-line dating," she relates.

Eventually, she did meet Mr. Wonderful.

"But it took time," she emphasizes. "And it wasn't love at first sight."

She met Jay Zukerman when both were attending a discussion group. And the fact that he, too, was a Philadelphia native sparked her interest.

"When he started talking about Tastykakes and hoagies, he warmed my heart," she recalls. "I decided to go out with him, and it grew gradually."

They married in l996, returning to their hometown for the wedding at Temple Beth Am in Jenkintown. She was 51 and he was 58. They've been living happily ever after.

"He's supportive and wonderful," says Zukerman.

Her husband often accompanies her on her book-signing tours.

"I show him off," she jokes.

It's also a good way to emphasize that she's had personal experience in finding romance in midlife.

GOOD STUFF FOR A BOOK

It was her own experience -- as well as research that she conducted -- that gave her the basis for her book. Her expertise in aging had led to her interest in the subject of romance for the middle-aged.

"All the research about successful aging shows that people who are partnered -- if it's a happy relationship -- do so much better than those who are single," she says.

So she decided to help others reach that goal. First, she did extensive research to learn about how middle-aged singles find and keep romance. She conducted focus groups and workshops in which singles shared their experiences.

Then she took the project on the road and conducted more workshops, this time teaching and applying the techniques that emerged from her research.

The workshops became so popular that they often were filled to capacity. In the end, she met more than 400 singles who participated in these workshops. Then she was ready to share the results of her research -- and her own personal experience -- with a wider audience.

Her book, published in paperback last May, has been very well-received. Publishers Weekly praised it for being "written in an upbeat, practical style that is both reassuring and motivating." Women order it for their mothers, their friends -- or themselves.

The author is now a high-profile expert on the subject of midlife romance. She writes a syndicated newspaper column that runs in several California newspapers. She's made frequent media appearances during her book tours, which included one in Philadelphia.

She did a book-signing and presentation in July at a local Barnes & Noble store and won over the audience with her personable, down-to-earth style. She also appeared on several local television shows.

She still conducts frequent social workshops in southern California, and she even plays matchmaker in cyberspace.

She has her own Web site www.youngatheartandsingle.com and she included both her Web site and e-mail address DrRZuk@aol.com at the end of her book, encouraging readers to contact her.

And they do. She gets dozens of e-mails from readers each week.

Then, too, there's the newsletter Zukerman publishes with up-to-date information on her workshops, book signings and other activities. There's even a T-shirt with a heart logo, "Young at Heart and Single," complete with an arrow through the heart.

This Cupid has found a cause dear to her own heart. She found lasting romance after age 50, and now she's helping others to reach the same goal.

"We never outgrow our need to love and be loved," she writes in the introduction to her book. "Why wait around? Take charge and make it happen now."