 Kendal Offers College Related Retirement Communities
The Kendal idea fosters the integration of continuing learning in all aspects of community life and work for residents, staff, and board members. The relationships of Kendal retirement communities with colleges and universities have grown steadily over the past 30 years. Following Kendal at Hanover's opening in 1991, Kendal at Oberlin, Kendal at Ithaca, Kendal at Lexington, and Kendal at Granville all benefited from significant participation with institutions of higher learning - including Dartmouth, Oberlin College, Cornell and Denison - in their individual locations. College alumni and faculty have become Founders, board members, or both; in several instances, interaction with the institutions themselves has led to the generous contribution of venture capital, land, and the numerous areas of expertise so important to the developing communities.
The college or university benefits by having a group of dedicated retirees who support the institution in many ways, including financially and as mentors, advisors, or committee members. In addition, the institution has the benefit of a nearby "laboratory" for research and internships on everything from human development, nursing and social service to food service and business administration. For example, Kendal at Ithaca residents and staff recently collaborated with Cornell University interior design and behavioral science students in a project to improve dining venues at Kendal. Read about this enthusiastically received and productive relationship as written about from Kendal's perspective and from Cornell's perspective.
Kendal is well known for developing college related retirement communities and is often a resource to organizations interested in learning more about this topic. Recently Kendal and other university-based retirement communities were featured in Journal of Active Aging:
According to Marilynn Larkin, MA, author of the article University-based Retirement Communities on the Rise*, for communities on or near college campuses the concept of 'lifelong learning' takes on new meaning. The article features Kendal at Lexington, includes quotes from the community's Executive Director, Steve Jewell, and corporate staff members Judy Braun and Bill Silbert, and mentions Kendal at Granville and Kendal at Oberlin with photos. The author looks at the variety of ways CCRCs and colleges and universities are cooperating to enhance the lives of older adults. Much attention is being focused on these unique arrangements and clearly they offer an amazing array of opportunities for the students, faculty, staff and residents involved. The article includes three additional examples of university-based retirement communities. Marilynn Larkin's article was published in the Journal on Active Aging (Volume 6, Number 2; March/April 2007), and is posted on this website with permission. Copyright ©2007 International Council on Active Aging, www.icaa.cc.
* (You are welcome to download this article but please note that this is a large file and may take awhile to open.)
Read about the relationships of individual Kendal affiliates with Colleges and Universities in their areas: Kendal - College/University Relationships
 Visit Kendal community websites to learn more:
AARP provides a list of retirement communities near college campuses.
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