As people live longer and healthier lives, a mid- to late-career itch afflicts a growing number who still have something to give to the world, even if they're not entirely sure what it is.
"Retirement is not always a good plan, because for many it simply leads to cognitive, emotional and physical deterioration," says Philip Pizzo, a professor of pediatrics and of microbiology and immunology. "Early in my medical and science career, I observed enormously successful people who didn't know when to transition from one role to another and had to be, to put it delicately, 'assisted' in that process. I resolved that when I got to a certain point in my career I wanted to have something different to do that would open new opportunities."
Today, Pizzo's resolve has led not only to new avenues for him—after 12 years as dean of medicine, he has returned to teaching and become a historian on the side—but also to a comprehensive Stanford program for other professionals in transition. The Distinguished Careers Institute will open in January with an inaugural class of 20 fellows. The 12-month program aims to help seasoned leaders from public and private sectors transform themselves for new roles that will make a social impact while enriching their own lives.
DCI's curricula, individually designed for each participant, include audited classes, discussion seminars on intellectual and personal transformation topics, and think tanks on major societal and intellectual issues. Faculty mentors will help fellows craft a scholarly pathway and work toward new careers that build on past accomplishments or open new vistas. To that end, fellows will have access to interdisciplinary programs across the university, to leading companies in Silicon Valley and beyond, and to career and transition planning and placement services.
The program also stresses the importance of participants' physical health, offering an assessment that includes a health, exercise and personal well-being plan. "Wellness and endurance are essential to taking on new challenges," says Pizzo, who rises early each day to jog seven miles.
"Healthy aging also requires building community," he notes. Accordingly, DCI encourages dialogue among fellows, their spouses or partners, mentors, students, faculty, and community and Silicon Valley leaders through dinner meetings, arts and athletic programs, and social events such as walks and hikes. Spouses may participate in the program through a joint tuition arrangement.
One of the synergistic benefits of the program is that it affords an opportunity for intergenerational education at Stanford: Fellows have the chance to mentor undergraduate and graduate students through lectures, discussion and informal gatherings. "At the same time, they learn about the 'latest and greatest' in terms of ideas and technologies from their younger compatriots," says DCI's executive director Kathy Gillam.
The institute is a partnership with the Stanford Center on Longevity, whose mission is to redesign long life. "A growing body of research suggests that health and satisfaction in the second half of life are critically tied to education and engagement, yet the current social norms that guide us through life limit education largely to youth," says Laura Carstensen, the center's director. "In this era of very long life, there is an urgent need for new visions of work and education," she says, noting that DCI "points to exciting new roles for universities in the 21st century."
The new institute might be thought of as executive education and lifelong learning coming to full maturity.
"We're at the vanguard of what will no doubt become similar efforts across the country," Gillam says. Currently, the only similar program is Harvard's Advanced Leadership Initiative, launched in 2008, which Pizzo says helped guide DCI's development. While the Harvard program is anchored in a business school model, the new Stanford program is more holistic in its approach, allowing students to explore a variety of new opportunities and "reinvent their life journey," he says.
"We expect that over the next three to five years the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute will be widely viewed as a unique opportunity to draw on and enhance the talents, knowledge and skills of senior leaders in service to the common good."
"We've already gotten a lot of enthusiastic interest," says Gillam. Applications are being accepted through August.
Marguerite Rigoglioso is a Bay Area freelance writer.
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