Sara Singer: Stanford Advanced Careers Conversations

In Series 10 of 4-Quarter Lives Avivah Wittenberg-Cox talks with the leaders of a growing number of university faculties running programmes for individuals looking to change direction in their 3rd Quarter of life. She discusses the origins and motivations for these programmes and how they fit into the evolving role of higher education.

This week she welcomes Sara Singer, Faculty Director of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI), to discuss how midlife transition programmes are reshaping universities — and the lives of the people who join them. A leading voice on health policy, organisational behaviour, and system design, Sara has brought a research lens to DCI, measuring its impact on purpose, community, and wellness.

In this conversation, Sara shares how she moved from Harvard to Stanford, and then took on first Research Director and then Faculty Director of DCI. She explains why the programme treats each fellow’s journey as an experiment, how intergenerational learning on campus reinvigorates both students and midlife professionals, and why she sees DCI as a “jewel on campus.”

They explore DCI’s three evidence-based pillars — renewing purpose, building community, and recalibrating wellness — and what the data reveals about their effectiveness. Sara also reflects on unique aspects of the programme, including its openness to couples, memoir writing, and Life Transformation Reflections. She explains why “readiness” is the key ingredient for successful fellows, and how transitions at midlife take more time than most expect. This conversation offers an inside look at how institutions can prepare people — and societies — for our new, multi-stage, 60-year careers.

Sara Singer is Professor of Health Policy and Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is Faculty Director of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute and also serves as its Research Director. Her scholarship spans health policy, leadership, and system design, with a focus on how organisations can improve population health outside of traditional medical care. At DCI, she integrates rigorous research with faculty leadership to help fellows — and the university — benefit from midlife transformation and intergenerational learning.

USEFUL LINKS

* Learn more about the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute

* Explore the Excel Collaborative — a network of midlife transition programmes

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