Becoming and being an Age-Friendly University (AFU): Strategic considerations and practical implications

ABSTRACT

Becoming and being an Age-Friendly University (AFU) require developing a strategic plan for enlisting support across campus for the AFU principles and embarking on an ongoing process for continuing to promote them as an academic community. Throughout this process, the use of a conceptual framework for change in academic settings can be helpful. The University of Rhode Island (URI) recently became an AFU after a campus-wide process of identifying activities that already supported AFU principles and enlisting key sources of support for embracing them. In particular, an emerging emphasis within URI on developing lifelong-learning and intergenerational programs provided a firm foundation upon which to build the case. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for developing a strategy for change in an academic setting, and then illustrates how URI has utilized it to move forward with becoming more “aging friendly.” Implications for continuing development consistent with the AFU principles will be discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Theories of change
• strategy
• intergenerational

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank other members of the AFU work group at URI: Pat Burbank (Nursing), Karen Lapointe (Alumni Relations), Beth Leconte (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), and Catherine Taylor (Gerontology and Ryan Institute). We would also like to express our appreciation for the helpful comments of the three anonymous reviewers.