New models for future retirement: A study of college /university -linked retirement communities.

Abstract

The era of mass longevity has blessed us by a significantly extended life expectancy and its potential of being healthy and active. However, this unprecedented blessing ironically has turned out to be a significant social challenge. Basically empty roles and low expectations in retirement tragically stigmatize the prolonged period in life after work where a majority of older adults are healthy and vigorous and are capable of taking advantage of new challenges. This dissertation explores the phenomenon of college/university linked retirement communities. The focus was on the major characteristics that distinguish university-based retirement communities from traditional retirement communities; the characteristics of senior residents; the environmental attributes that the community and colleges or universities create; and the role colleges and universities are beginning to play in creating new models for retirement. The research consisted of two phases. The first, a national survey to determine the number and types of college/university linked retirement communities that are operating, those that have made a commitment to develop such communities, and those that are conducting feasibility studies regarding the possible development of such communities. The second phase was to select two operating communities and conduct a case study to compare and contrast the nature of such facilities. The two selected were University Commons at the University of Michigan and Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame. The study consisted of face-to-face interviews, on-site observations and review and analysis of relevant documents. This study suggests that, first, the high overall satisfaction of the residents is attributed to the congruence between their motivations and the environmental resources that colleges and universities provide, evidenced by four major behavioral patterns: learning while aging; working while aging; leisure while aging; and intergenerational interactions. Secondly, based on this congruence, the environment empowers older adults by giving them new opportunities to pursue personal growth and self-actualization. College/university linked retirement communities have the potential to be more than simply a solution to the housing needs of older adults, rather, they may transform the rejection of older adults by younger generations into an appreciation and enjoyment of their presence and of what they can contribute. It is also anticipated that colleges and universities will have the vision to meet the challenge of making a way out from the old paradigm of seeing aging and retirement as a problem and toward a new paradigm in which aging and retirement are full of meaning, value and opportunities.