IC News

This year, Ithaca College was officially designated an Age-Friendly University (AFU), joining a worldwide network of 50 pioneering institutions that have proven commitments to being age-friendly in their programs and policies.

The Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) and its members endorse 10 principles of an age-friendly institution, created by an international, interdisciplinary team convened by Dublin City University to identify the distinctive ways higher education institutions can help respond to the needs of aging populations.

Coordinated for many years by IC professor Christine Pogorzala, who retired this year, Longview’s partnership just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Longview residents can take classes at the college and take part in social activities such as last month’s annual Intergenerational Harvest Moon Dance and the spring’s Intergenerational Prom, open to all ages from all over the county. Sponsored by the Aging and Gerontological Education Society (AGES) and the Project Generations student organizations, the dances are attended by community members of all ages, from centenarians to toddlers.

“It's neat to see students form meaningful friendships with older people. They might interact for a class-related project or at one of our events or something and then end up forming a friendship that endures through their time here, and sometimes beyond,” Bergman said.

IC’s Gerontology Institute and gerontology department have long-standing relationships with a number of organizations elsewhere in Ithaca and Tompkins County. Students also go to McGraw House and Titus Towers, which are both high-rise apartment buildings for older adults, as well as Lifelong, a senior center downtown that acts as a hub for a wide variety of activities that promote continued mental, physical and creative growth.

Almost all of IC’s gerontology courses have an experiential component where students go out into the community to work with older adults, but even in other programs like occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology, students are out in the community. IC’s Center for Life Skills, for example, offers rehabilitative services to community members. Even in areas like the Department of History, students research and record life experiences of older members of the community.

In fact, all five schools at the college have been involved in one way or another with Longview. IC is also working to examine its facilities and policies to facilitate participation of all ages on campus.

“It’s not just about older people but people of all ages,” Bergman said. “We’re trying to break down any barriers that exist to having a more intergenerational feel to our campus.”

One of the objectives of the Ithaca Forever strategic plan is to become a global destination for a multi-generational student body.

Even as a child, Bergman experienced the power of intergenerational interactions. She belonged to a Suzuki violin ensemble that frequently performed at retirement communities, but she still had not considered gerontology as a career path until late in her bachelor’s program. She went on to receive a master’s degree in gerontology and a PhD in aging studies. In November, she was recognized as a 2019 Fellow by the prestigious Gerontological Society of America, one of just three from the AGHE. 

IC’s efforts in the community have helped foster a more general ethos in Ithaca and Tompkins County, both of which the AARP named Age-Friendly Communities as part of a World Health Organization initiative to help municipalities prepare for rapid population aging. It’s a kind of parallel track to IC’s age-friendly designation.