Americans are living longer these days, and Hillsdale College is preparing for this with plans to develop a retirement community near the campus, creating an atmosphere where retired folks can enjoy their latter period of life among the company of like-minded individuals and close to the ideals of the college they support.
While not a new idea, Hillsdale did not seriously start moving ahead with plans for the building project until four years ago when the administration sent out a survey to approximately 3,000 affiliates and supporters of the college, outlining the plans for the community and inquiring whether they would consider moving to Hillsdale as a possible location to retire.
Vice President of Administration Rich Pewe said the administration was flooded with an overwhelmingly positive response.
Admittedly, Michigan weather is certainly no draw for the elderly, so what would cause a retired couple to pick up and move to Hillsdale's campus?
Péwé said the survey found that “[the] intellectual and social stimulation” that Hillsdale freely offers appealed to this particular group of individuals.
“[They] like the atmosphere of the college,” Péwé said.
“[They] want to be in a community of like-minded people, [yet] live independently, interact with students [and have] the option of going to basketball games or concerts.”
While the benefits for the elderly of living in this type of community are numerous, the question expressed by many students is how this is going to affect them, followed closely with the assumption that it will be similar to a very long CCA week with the elderly guests attending classes.
Provost Bob Blackstock, however, assured that this will not be the scene in Hillsdale's academics and that he is “watching [it] with a real close eye.”
Péwé echoed the fact that this issue was among the administration's top concerns, and he said that “a straightforward policy on class attendance” will be enacted.
He added that if members of the retirement community do want to take classes, they will have to go through the regular class procedure, which includes paying a fee and meeting the class requirements. In order to audit a class, the permission of the professor will also be required, thus concentrating the authority to the discretion of the professor.
The faculty will also have the opportunity to teach a series of academic lectures at the retirement community, which will be an ongoing program imitating the form of the Hillsdale Hostel programs.
By offering a series of talks on a particular subject, the faculty can benefit through extra pay, and the retired folks, who still love to learn yet many of whom wouldn't be able to keep up with the academic pressures of a classroom setting, can hear lectures that “suit their schedules and interests,” Blackstock said.
“The idea clearly has potential, but its success … will be in the execution,” Professor of History Burt Folsom said.
“In theory it is great for the college and for the town to have a community of wealthy donors building houses and living here for much of the year. But what happens if a major wealthy donor is the inadvertent victim of a fraternity prank some night and decides to withdraw all giving from the college?”
The concept of the elderly moving to an academic institution to live out the rest of their lives has been adopted by approximately 40 other colleges across the United States.
Although fundamentally very different from Hillsdale, Oberlin College in Ohio offers a thriving retirement community, Kendal at Oberlin, which was established 11 years ago by a group of Oberlin residents who “saw a need to keep the college professionals [at Oberlin] because there wasn't a lot of resources for older people here,” said Terry Kovach, admissions and marketing associate for Kendal at Oberlin.
Like the proposed community at Hillsdale, Kendal at Oberlin is located less than a mile from their college campus and is a completely separate entity, yet boasts frequent interaction between residents and students.
“The key to staying young is keeping your mind active,” Kovach said.
Although only a few of the residents attend Oberlin classes, “the students really enjoy it when they do [because] they offer a completely different perspective,” Kovach said.
Hillsdale senior Natalie Simpson reiterated the importance of an intergenerational exchange on campus and described Art Thomas, a retired man who is enrolled at Hillsdale, as a positive example.
“Mr. Thomas really invests in his classes, but also in the students,” Simpson said.
“The students love him.”
“[The retirement community] would be good for the students,” Péwé said.
“If we felt in any way that it would be a detriment for the students, we wouldn't do it.”
Athletic events, such as football, basketball and swimming, as well as shows and concerts will benefit directly from the support of enthusiastic attendees, and the retirement community will also be “indirectly good for the students because they will support the college,” Péwé said.
Currently, he said that the college is working with architects to draw up some possible floor plans for the building project, after which, and if successful, they will move into the development stage and the creation of a conceptual floor plan.
If all goes as planned, the residents will then be expected to put down a deposit to hold their place among the projected 165 independent living units.
The residents will pay a membership fee, in addition to monthly fees, the amount depending on their living arrangements—whether it is a cottage, apartment, etc.—and these prices could range any where from $180,000 to $350,000, according to Péwé.
The retirement community will be fashioned from what Péwé describes as a “continuing care development model,” which covers senior citizens' main concerns: their quality of life, security and cost of living, as well as providing the residents with their various and necessary health care needs.
The development, which is projected to be finished and occupied by 2008 if all goes according to plan, will be far from an ordinary rest home or assisted living facility.
A community center will attract luxuries scarce on Hillsdale's campus, such as a fine restaurant, lounge, coffee shop and spa, while also providing the retired with services such as a library, classroom spaces, a cyber cafe and a computer lab, to name a few on the tentative list.
While such attractions suffice for some, others, such as guest speakers at the latest CCA Paul Fussell and his wife hailing from Philadelphia, Pa., adamantly stated that only “the city life” could charm them into retirement, followed by the quick addition that they're “sure there would be plenty of people that would want to come here and die.”
Touching Barber Drive, Half Moon Road and Mauck Road, the property spans 180 acres and boasts the highest point on the campus, where Péwé said that “[the residents] could see Central Hall from every location,” causing them to feel connected to the larger vision of Hillsdale, yet separate and independent by having their own campus.
According to Péwé, Hillsdale College is a “sponsoring institution” for the retirement community and will have “absolutely no connection to the [college's] budget,” because it is a separate entity.
Recently, the administration got the guarantee from the Hillsdale City Council to move forward with the plans when the council discussed the effects and benefits of building the retirement community.
“We thought good things about it,” Hillsdale Township Supervisor Bill Vincent said.
“[The retirement community] would be good for the people of the township, help with jobs and bring new people in.”
Vincent said the township council wanted to help the college with this endeavor, provided that the residents on the three streets affected by the development could be excluded from the boundary of the land transfer, thus avoiding an increase in their city taxes.
According to the Hillsdale Daily News , and echoed by Vincent: “A letter has been drafted to the college from the city stating that water and sewer services will be provided [to the retirement community] regardless. The township has sent its own letter which states that it would be willing to work out a P.A. 425 Land Transfer Agreement that did not include the citizens of the township.”
Among others in Hillsdale, Vincent believes that the retirement development would only enrich the community by “improving business relations and aiding local industries.”
At least one resident, however, said he fails to see the advantages the retirement community will provide until he witnesses them first-hand.
Living on a farm at the top of Barber Drive, Steve Woods' main request was for Hillsdale College to “leave me alone and I'll shut up.”
As a third generation Hillsdale resident, Woods' complaints, whether warranted or not, stem from his fear that he, his wife and cattle, will be annexed into the city although they strongly desire to remain in the township.
According to Péwé and the wording of the 425 Land Transfer Agreement, however, the Woods have no reason to worry.
On the contrary, Péwée said the retirement development would “bring a fantastic vitality to the community” and would boost Hillsdale's economy by bringing in more of a demand and creating approximately 100 new jobs for the town's residents, as well as students.
Although at times it is difficult for ambitious college students to recognize what the older generation has to offer, senior citizens understand the differences between the age gap by recognizing that each has something beneficial to offer the other.
Some of these benefits could come in the form of a listening ear and sound advice, a tutor and a mentor, or a valuable “intergenerational exchange especially in understanding history,” Péwé said.
“They just want to continue to learn and to make a difference,” Péwé said.
“They are interested in the next generation.”