A CASE ARGUMENT FOR AGE DIVERSITY ON CAMPUS

Abstract Washington University for Life is an initiative to increase age-diversity on campus, especially in degree and certificate programs. We have developed a case argument for educating people across the longer life course; and we identify positive outcomes for society, younger students, the institution, and for older adults themselves. These arguments do not include the reality that the supply of young students will be constrained, as this demographic press is not viewed as threatening by many U.S. universities. This argument is being presented to administrators, admission and career service personnel, and classroom instructors, who do not universally accept the benefits, much less the necessity, of increased age-diversity; and they often express resistance to disrupting traditional practices with only the well-being of older adults in mind. A full discussion of reasons that Washington University should move purposively toward age inclusivity is important to build consensus and identify opportunities for new practices.

been adequately addressed in mainstream clinical trials. Aging with Pride: IDEA (Innovations in Dementia Empowerment and Action), is an intervention designed to improve physical functioning and quality of life of LGBT adults with dementia and caregivers. We evaluate the processes and effectiveness of culturally-responsive recruitment approaches implemented in this study. A strong research-community partnership was necessary for the development and implementation of the intervention.
LGBT participants with dementia made the first contact to research team as often as caregivers did and showed a higher rate of living alone and having a friend-based care network. The most common reason for ineligibility was not having a caregiver. Participants learned about the study via multiple venues including community events, newsletters, and social media. This study illustrates important new ways to sustain collaborations with disadvantaged communities and conduct a clinical trial with hard-to-reach participants. The pioneering Age-Friendly University (AFU) initiative, endorsed in 2016 by GSA's Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), calls for institutions of higher education to respond to shifting demographics and the needs of our aging populations through more age-friendly programs, practices, and partnerships. Over 45 institutions in the United States, Canada, European countries, and beyond have joined the network and adopted the 10 AFU guiding principles. This symposium will feature leaders at AFU campuses who will discuss why their institution joined the initiative, their age-friendly campus vision, and how they are putting AFU principles into practice. AFU Washington University St. Louis leaders will describe efforts to increase age-diversity on their campus, especially through professional studies programs that support personal and career development in the second half of life. AFU University of Southern California leaders will discuss new age-friendly efforts entailing intergenerational exchange, best practices of age-friendly programming for retired employees and alumni, and emerging connections to local community aging initiatives. AFU Eastern Michigan University leaders will round out the presentation with an overview of accomplishments of their campus-wide steering committee and its age-friendly evaluation research that informed the needs and interests of older learners pursuing second careers, as well as how to actively engage emeritus faculty and staff as a retired community on campus. The discussant will provide integrating comments and age-friendly suggestions for putting AFU principles into practice.

A CASE ARGUMENT FOR AGE DIVERSITY ON CAMPUS
Nancy Morrow-Howell, 1 Edward Lawlor, 1 Ed Macias, 1 Emma Swinford, 1 and Jeffrey Brandt 1 , 1. Washington University, st. Louis, Missouri, United States Washington University for Life is an initiative to increase age-diversity on campus, especially in degree and certificate programs. We have developed a case argument for educating people across the longer life course; and we identify positive outcomes for society, younger students, the institution, and for older adults themselves. These arguments do not include the reality that the supply of young students will be constrained, as this demographic press is not viewed as threatening by many U.S. universities. This argument is being presented to administrators, admission and career service personnel, and classroom instructors, who do not universally accept the benefits, much less the necessity, of increased age-diversity; and they often express resistance to disrupting traditional practices with only the well-being of older adults in mind. A full discussion of reasons that Washington University should move purposively toward age inclusivity is important to build consensus and identify opportunities for new practices.

MAKING CAMPUS GREAT AT ANY AGE: ONE UNIVERSITY'S APPROACH TO AFU PRINCIPLES
Cassandra Barragan, 1 Cassandra Barragan, 1 and Andrea Zakrajsek 1 , 1. Eastern Michigan University, Ypslianti, Michigan, United States This presentation will discuss the focused approach to putting AFU principles into practice that we accomplished with our campus-wide steering committee. We performed surveys for students over the age of 40 to learn the perspectives of older learners and what resources they felt were available on campus. By doing this, we were able to understand more about learners pursuing second careers and through a variety of initiatives at the university level, we have improved visibility of older learners and the richness they bring to our campus. We also collected data from our emeritus faculty and staff to learn how they interact with campus in retirement to understand effective ways to actively engage with them as a retired community. Overall, we have been able to effectively use the AFU Initiative to enhance inclusion and diversity to include older learners on campus and make AFU efforts more visible across campus.

BUILDING RECOGNITION ACROSS CAMPUS AND TOWN FOR USC'S AGE-FRIENDLY UNIVERSITY INITIATIVE
Paul Nash, 1 Paul Nash, 2 and Caroline Cicero 2 , 1. University of Southern California, LA, California, United States, 2.

University of Southern California, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, California, United States
Details of efforts to highlight existing age-related programming on campus, create a new intergenerational experiential learning program, build a social media presence, and include 'age' in the university's diversity efforts will be discussed. Best practices in community engagement will be emphasized including successes with retired employees, alumni, activities programming, and local age-friendly efforts. Discussion includes the benefits of developing a multidisciplinary working group to ensure the Initiative is a university wide effort and the challenges of working in a large, multi-campus research university located in multilayered bureaucratic local jurisdictions. Future goals and collaboration with AFU Global Network partners and aspirations for addressing societal ageism will be addressed.