Simon Chan & Kate Schaefers: Designing Age-Diverse Universities: A Longevity Roadmap

In this week’s 4-Quarter Lives, Avivah Wittenberg-Cox is joined by Simon Chan and Dr. Kate Schaefers, co-chairs of the Nexel Collaborative, a not-for-profit network of academic thought leaders promoting college-based midlife transition programmes. As societies shift toward age-diverse populations and 60-year careers, they explore why higher education must evolve from a front-loaded, early-life model to one that supports adults through multiple transitions across the life course.

Together, they examine the rise of midlife and later-life learning programs, the demographic and economic pressures reshaping universities, and the growing demand from individuals seeking purpose, reinvention, and community beyond traditional retirement. Drawing on their work with Nexel, CoGenerate, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Simon and Kate highlight the emerging ecosystem—from intergenerational classrooms to university-based retirement communities—now pointing toward an era of lifelong, cross-generational campuses.

Simon Chan is the Founder and CEO of Adapt with Intent Inc., advising organizations on longevity, work, higher education, and retirement. He partners with senior leaders to build resilient workforces, modernize retirement, and design systems for 100-year lives. A Global Ambassador for the Stanford Center on Longevity, he translates research into practice. Simon co-chairs The Nexel Collaborative to advance midlife transitions and serves on Yale’s Experienced Leaders Initiative Advisory Board. A Senior Fellow at CoGenerate, he champions intergenerational innovation. He chairs Wilfrid Laurier University’s Board of Governors and frequently speaks and writes on longevity and workforce change across various sectors in Canada and around the world.

Dr. Kate Schaefers a psychologist, educator, and director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and The Midlife Academy at the University of Minnesota. As co-chair of The Nexel Collaborative, she works with universities across the U.S. to advance midlife learning, intergenerational classrooms, and innovative program design for adults in transition. She previously led the University of Minnesota’s Advanced Careers Initiative, where she developed one of the country’s first “midternship” models blending academic exploration with applied work experience. Kate’s work centers on adult development, identity shifts, and how institutions can better support individuals at pivot points such as career change, caregiving, empty nest, and post-retirement reinvention.

Useful Links

* Nexel Collaborative website

* Campus CoGenerate: https://cogenerate.org/harnessing-the-power-of-cogeneration-on-campus/

* University Retirement Communities: https://www.universityretirementcommunities.com/

* Inside Higher Education Enrollment Cliff, Meet Longevity Boom: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2024/08/08/longevity-boom-boost-higher-ed-opinion

* CoGenerate Webinar - Three College Presidents on Cogeneration, Innovation and Higher Ed’s Bottom Line:

* The Midlife Academy at the University of Minnesota https://ccaps.umn.edu/midlife-academy

* National Resource Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes: https://sps.northwestern.edu/oshernrc/

* Long Life Learning and the Age Integration of Higher Education, Stanford Social Innovation Review: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/long_life_learning_and_the_age_integration_of_higher_educat

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