Retire on campus? Colleges find community with intergenerational living.
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Sarah Matusek Staff writer
| Tempe, Ariz.
Ruth Jones lives on top of the world 鈥� her world, anyway.
From nine stories high, she can gaze down at a sun-smothered, urban Arizona sprawl featuring a school she began serving in 1981 鈥� the top of an auditorium here, her last faculty office there.
The former political science professor is so fond of Arizona State University that she retired on campus.
Why We Wrote This
How do you break down stereotypes across generations? If this senior living residence on a university campus is any indication, proximity may be key.
鈥淥ne of my former professors said, 鈥楽tay on campus as long as you possibly can. 鈥� Because those students will keep you young,鈥欌�� she recalls. 鈥淚 realized the wisdom in what he said.鈥�
Dr. Jones lives in a high-end, intergenerational senior living residence that opened on the Tempe campus last year. With perks like access to classes and campus IDs, Mirabella at ASU is billed as an immersive alternative to traditional lifelong learning. Retirees here are convinced they have more to give, rejecting a mindset of decline for one of usefulness and growth.
Take Karen Busch, for example. She鈥檚 embracing life at Mirabella after tough pandemic months and the death of her husband.
鈥淚 feel now like I have a much better purpose again to life,鈥� says the senior with spiked, rose-colored hair.听听
But seniors aren鈥檛 the only ones benefiting.
Intergenerational living: A two-way street
Pencie Culiver and Deven Meyers both wear thick watches on their left wrists. At Mirabella鈥檚 street-level bistro one October afternoon, they joke around as if pals forever 鈥撎齨o matter their ages are decades apart.
Mrs. Culiver, a Mirabella resident, shared burgers with her future husband at ASU football games in the 鈥�60s. Now back living on campus, she and Ms. Meyers, an ASU student, sometimes do double dates.听听
鈥淪he energizes me. She gives me hope for the future,鈥� says Mrs. Culiver of her new friend.听
鈥淗onestly, it鈥檚 just fun to hear her stories,鈥� says the business health care major.
They were paired through an intergenerational 鈥減en pal program,鈥� though they prefer meetups over missives. As director of lifelong university engagement, Lindsey Beagley is tasked with promoting such cross-campus exchanges.
鈥淚 do think part of my job is to challenge assumptions on both sides, right? About the different generations,鈥� she says.
Mirabella鈥檚 sleek 20-story tower opened its doors last December. Surrounded by traffic and eateries, it sits on the urban edge of the Tempe campus, which hosts roughly 55,000 students. U.S. News and World Report for innovation.
鈥淲e believe strongly at ASU in the idea that we should all be lifelong learners,鈥� says Morgan Olsen, executive vice president, treasurer, and chief financial officer of the school.
Mirabella鈥檚 couple-hundred residents, ages 62 and older, are largely white and presumably well-off. (Entrance fees range from $382,400 to over a million dollars, on top of monthly service fees up to $7,800.) Some residents have moved there from across the country, while several have ties to the university as alumni or former employees, like Dr. Jones, who mentions enjoying an undergrad course on world religions and recreational art classes at Mirabella.
鈥淭hey say to get outside your comfort zone,鈥� she says at home, enthroned on a yellow leather recliner. 鈥淣o greater discomfort than taking a watercolor class.鈥�
By staying on campus, Dr. Jones also gets to witness her professional legacy unfurl. As the first tenured woman in the political science department as well as the first to serve as its chair, she recruited several women to ASU during her career 鈥撎齛 point of pride for the retiree.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not hard to recruit good women,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to create the environment that will help them succeed,鈥� adding that she maintains casual meetups with some of the women still there.听
Down the hall lives Dr. Busch, with the short, soft-pink hair, a retired director of faculty development who moved from Michigan. This spring she launched a weekly conversation group in Spanish that she hopes more students will join.
Another Mirabella resident, Richard Ruff,听who,听with his wife, Janet Spirer, divides his time between here and San Diego, also connects with students on academic topics. A retired organizational psychologist, he听mentored students this past semester听through the Center for Entrepreneurship. Along with helping him feel purposeful, the gig听afforded听him welcome insight into kids these days.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e scary smart,鈥� says a gray-sweatered Dr. Ruff.
A growth path for campuses?
Older adults seek three things, says Andrew Carle, a senior living and aging industry consultant: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking for active, they鈥檙e looking for intellectually stimulating, and they鈥檙e looking for intergenerational retirement environments. And basically, I just described a college campus.鈥�
One counts around 100 higher ed-affiliated retirement sites. But Mr. Carle, who coined the term 鈥渦niversity-based retirement communities鈥� (UBRCs), says only three or four dozen projects meet most of his criteria.
The ASU model is unusual for its on-campus location and close affiliation with the school, he adds. Boston-area Lasell Village is another example, where residents on Lasell University鈥檚 campus to at least 450 hours of enrichment a year.
Given declining enrollments 鈥撎齛nd potentially more empty buildings if virtual learning expands 鈥� UBRCs can increase campus-based revenue, Mr. Carle argues.
鈥淚 said to one university president 鈥� 鈥榊ou can hopefully start giving birth to baby geniuses who start college at age 5, or you can recycle your old customers.鈥欌��
ASU leases the nearly 2-acre site to a joint venture managed by Pacific Retirement Services. The 99-year land lease cost around $7 million up front, plus the joint venture pays a semiannual fee.
As a life plan community, Mirabella offers multiple levels of care. Beyond the 238 independent living residences, a few dozen units are dedicated to assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care, though the latter hasn鈥檛 opened yet due to industry-wide staffing shortages.
Other growing pains stem from its location. In October, Mirabella filed a lawsuit against Shady Park, a live music venue across the street, asking Maricopa County Superior Court for an injunction to keep it from emitting noise above local limits.听
Mirabella alleges the venue鈥檚 noise and vibrations have caused 鈥渟ubstantial personal harm鈥� to residents, though the city says the venue, which predates Mirabella, hasn鈥檛 been cited for noise violations. A judge denied Mirabella鈥檚 request for a temporary restraining order last month.
鈥淒iscovery is ongoing but we are confident that when the facts are developed they will confirm that the sound created by music at Shady Park is reasonable and appropriate,鈥� emailed Shady Park spokesman David Leibowitz.
Despite some friction, having both retirees and college-age concertgoers wanting to call Tempe home is 鈥渁 great problem to have,鈥� says Deputy City Manager Rosa Inchausti.听
Senior advocates agree that the benefits of proximity outweigh the hiccups.
Counteracting ageism
Mirabella鈥檚 Executive Director Tom Dorough believes interactions across generations can help chip away at ageism.
鈥淔or whatever reason, in Western culture, we kind of push older adults to the side like they鈥檙e no longer useful,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he more intergenerational opportunities that we have where we鈥檙e connecting younger adults to older adults, I think the better the understanding is.鈥�
To encourage that interaction, Mirabella pays room and board for four student musicians-in-residence. In exchange, they dedicate at least two hours a week to performance or other programming, like lessons.听
At a late-summer Mirabella happy hour, musician-in-residence Michelle Kim was playing the piano when she says a man encouraged her to choose a favorite tune of her own. A couple months later, she still recalls the group鈥檚 applause as her fingers sank into the opening keys of 鈥淎utumn Leaves.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e so compassionate,鈥� says Ms. Kim, who鈥檚 pursuing a doctorate of musical arts. After months limited by COVID-19, 鈥渋t鈥檚 so nice to have a regular audience 鈥撎齛nd your fans.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 just so grateful to work with the residents,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e literally like my grandparents.鈥�
It鈥檚 a familiarity similar to what Ms. Meyers and Mrs. Culiver share. As they prepare to leave the Mirabella bistro, the two mention a plan to reunite for sandwiches soon.
Then they hug goodbye.
