{"id":47835,"date":"2026-04-03T04:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T04:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=47835"},"modified":"2026-04-03T04:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T04:12:11","slug":"rethinking-aging-on-college-campuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=47835","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Aging on College Campuses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

As colleges nationwide focus on artificial intelligence and workforce readiness initiatives to prepare students for their careers, the University of California, Los Angeles, is expanding its attention to a different population: older adults.<\/p>\n

Through an age-friendly university initiative, UCLA is redefining what aging looks like on campus\u2014vibrant, inclusive and rooted in lifelong learning.<\/p>\n

The initiative began in 2018, when UCLA became the first campus in the University of California system to join the Age-Friendly University Global Network, a consortium focused on improving the lives of older adults through education, research and community engagement.<\/p>\n

In February, the university built on that foundation by introducing a more coordinated, campuswide approach\u2014including a cross-disciplinary task force and a new website aimed at promoting healthy aging and combating ageism.<\/p>\n

The initiative engages a wide range of older adults, including retired faculty and staff, alumni, and community members interested in continuing education. While some participants audit courses or pursue certificates, others engage through mentorship programs and volunteer opportunities.<\/p>\n

Ayesha Dixon, a gerontologist and senior director of the Emeriti\/Retirees Relations Center at UCLA, said the initiative at its core is about cultivating a positive social environment for older adults, in addition to creating more opportunities for intergenerational learning and exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgeism is everywhere,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cWorking in Los Angeles, we see it on the silver screen, we see it on TV. There\u2019s always some sort of depiction of older adults as being decrepit or useless or the comedy punchline.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative is really about reimagining what older adulthood looks like\u2014and how campuses and other institutions can actively push back against those narratives,\u201d Dixon said.<\/p>\n

Supporting an age-friendly university:<\/strong> The university has built a range of programs and partnerships guided by the Age-Friendly University Global Network\u2019s 10 principles.<\/p>\n

10 Principles of an Age-Friendly University<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. To encourage the participation of older adults in all the core activities of the university, including educational and research programs.<\/li>\n
  2. To promote personal and career development in the second half of life and to support those who wish to pursue second careers.<\/li>\n
  3. To recognize the range of educational needs of older adults.<\/li>\n
  4. To promote intergenerational learning in order to facilitate the reciprocal sharing of expertise between learners of all ages.<\/li>\n
  5. To widen access to online educational opportunities for older adults to ensure a diversity of routes to participation.<\/li>\n
  6. To ensure that the university\u2019s research agenda is informed by the needs of an aging society and to promote public discourse on how higher education can better respond to the varied interests and needs of older adults.<\/li>\n
  7. To increase the understanding of students of the longevity dividend and the increasing complexity and richness that aging brings to our society.<\/li>\n
  8. To enhance access for older adults to the university\u2019s range of health and wellness programs and its arts and cultural activities.<\/li>\n
  9. To engage actively with the university\u2019s own retired community.<\/li>\n
  10. To ensure regular dialogue with organizations representing the interests of the aging population.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To guide its work, UCLA convened a task force made up of emeriti faculty, staff and retirees with expertise in gerontology, psychology, public health and the social sciences. The group meets quarterly to recommend strategies for expanding intergenerational programming, reducing social isolation and ensuring equity for older members of the campus community.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe have a really diverse group of people who can help strategize and bring these principles to life in practice,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cFraming everything through these principles was a labor of love, and being able to draw on their different backgrounds, has been invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n

    One result of those discussions is a new age-friendly website, designed as a central hub for retirees, emeriti faculty and community members seeking information on aging-related resources, research and courses. The site also highlights opportunities for intergenerational mentorship, volunteer programs and wellness workshops.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhether it\u2019s a class on learning Portuguese or discussions on film and media arts, having these opportunities\u2014often free or low-cost\u2014helps keep people engaged,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cThey can take one class or several, pursue a certificate, or simply participate.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Dixon said that when the task force analyzed the university\u2019s database of roughly 22,000 retired faculty and staff, about 41\u00a0percent had earned a certificate or degree from UCLA.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt shows they\u2019re invested in UCLA beyond just being employees,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cThere\u2019s a strong sense of identity and connection, and it reflects how the university is thinking not just about students, but about people across the full arc of their relationship with the institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Tackling ageism on campus:<\/strong> Dixon said the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the university\u2019s approach to supporting older adults.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThere was a really big need because of social isolation,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cA lot of things were pivoting to Zoom or Facebook or Twitter, and older adults were new to these spaces. It became clear that the structure needed to evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n

    That shift helped expand UCLA\u2019s age-friendly efforts beyond social connection to include broader public health and lifelong learning initiatives.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAging has long been a focus in public health policy and research\u2014whether it\u2019s Alzheimer\u2019s, dementia or diabetes,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cAs one of the top public health and research institutions in the country, it\u2019s important to offer programs that support people across the lifespan.\u201d<\/p>\n

    For Dixon, that work starts with building intentional infrastructure to better serve older adults\u2014an often overlooked population in higher education.<\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s something UCLA and my department have focused on to show how other institutions can learn from this population,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cIt\u2019s always freshmen and football, but when you think about nontraditional learners, it really spans the entire lifespan.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    As colleges nationwide focus on artificial intelligence and workforce readiness initiatives to prepare students for their careers, the University of California, Los Angeles, is expanding its attention to a different population: older adults. Through an age-friendly university initiative, UCLA is redefining what aging looks like on campus\u2014vibrant, inclusive and rooted in lifelong learning. The initiative<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[4191,10499,535,9268],"class_list":{"0":"post-47835","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-aging","9":"tag-campuses","10":"tag-college","11":"tag-rethinking"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}