Resources
Intergenerational interactions can provide a multitude of benefits for college students, older adults, and people of any age. We are committed to advancing knowledge about intergenerational learning.
We strive to embody the Ten Principles of an Age-Friendly University in all that we do:
- To encourage the participation of older adults in all the core activities of the University, including educational and research programs.
- To promote personal and career development in the second half of life and to support those who wish to pursue second careers.
- To recognize the range of educational needs of older adults (from those who were early school-leavers through to those who wish to pursue Master’s or Ph.D. qualifications).
- To promote intergenerational learning in order to facilitate the reciprocal sharing of expertise between learners of all ages.
- To widen access to online educational opportunities for older adults to ensure a diversity of routes to participation.
- To ensure that the university’s 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.
- To increase the understanding of students of the longevity dividend and the increasing complexity and richness that aging brings to our society.
- To enhance access for older adults to the university’s range of health and wellness programs and its arts and cultural activities.
- To engage actively with the university’s own retired community.
- To ensure regular dialogue with organizations representing the interests of the aging population.
The Pew Research Center says there are, “5 things to keep in mind when you hear about Gen Z, Millennials, Boomers and other generations.”
- Generations United’s, “Making the Case for Intergenerational Programs”*
- How to meaningfully engage youth in designing global education events by Rida Karim, Pragya Upreti, Richaa Hoysala, and Grace Cannon in Brookings. Young people under 24 make up 41% of the global population—but are too often excluded from shaping the decisions that define their futures. This article explores how to move beyond symbolic participation by creating real, intergenerational partnerships that center youth voice and agency. If you’re ready to rethink what meaningful youth engagement looks like, this is a must-read.
- “I Will Cherish This Experience for a Lifetime:” A Qualitative Exploration of the Benefits of Intergenerational Dialogue in College Students
- Intergenerational Service Learning within an Aging Course and Its Impact on Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes about Aging
- Undergraduates Mentoring Older Adults: Breaking Stereotypes
- Everything Gets Better with Age: Traditional College-Aged Student Perspectives on Older Adult Auditors in Multigenerational Classrooms
- A Yale study showed that older people with more positive beliefs about aging lived an average of 7.5 longer than people who equated aging with disease and decline. Actress and activist Jane Fonda and anti-ageism advocate Ashton Applewhite present “Sunday Morning” viewers with a key to living a longer life, by maintaining a better outlook. Dec 1, 2024
- “We are all aging, so ageism is actually a prejudice against our future selves” says Ashton Applewhite in this Let’s End Ageism (discrimination against older people due to negative and inaccurate stereotypes) TED video.
- “What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness”, presented by psychiatrist Robert Waldinger in this TED video.