Could "Super agers" help?

As the broad population of the U.S.A. ages, questions are being raised about acquiring and retaining talent that is essential to all sectors. Recognizing the negative impact of age consciousness, segregation, and denigration is an important place to start. Beyond this entrenched and system view, higher education has the immediate problem of employing faculty and staff who are even older than the population at large. One way to address the problem of maintaining the higher education workforce, one that relies on advanced education and seasoned levels of intellectual capability, is to hire "super agers" who would have, or already have, retired.

I'll own it - I am a super ager. I've been "semi-retired" for seven years and have remained active in a modest level of consulting and a lot of publication, coaching, and mentoring that has been immensely gratifying. My involvement is quite similar to reports of other academic retirees. I hope that my contributions during these "semi-retirement" years have been helpful to others and have continued to build the capacity and literature for internationalization, student affairs, and leadership learning. As I have gradually slipped further out of substantive engagement, social media continues to reflect a world that I miss and in which I seem to lack relevance.

I could have been part or full-time employed during this time, no question. However, the number of hours I am willing to put in is limited by my personal desire to enjoy family, music, and volunteer work in which I'm involved. Using myself as a possible example, the questions super agers and those who might need them in their workforce might ask include:

• How could "work" in higher education be fashioned that would allow super agers greater flexibility and control?
• How have super agers willing to work kept abreast of contemporary issues so that their contributions would be relevant and timely?
• What generational barriers need to be addressed in order for super agers to be both confident and humble and those with whom they work authoritative and responsive?
• Who could broker the talent of super agers as reinforcements to the workforce in ways that brings value to higher education and its various initiatives?

There are probably lots of other questions but these are a start. One dean offered advice on the questions academics should ask as they begin to consider what's next after full-time employment. Central to the question of employing "super agers" is offering flexibility for those who might have retired as well as those who are just looking for new opportunities - "allow your talented faculty and administrators to go, and be flexible and open to them coming back."