In a recent article, the New York Times writes, “In many places across the country, ‘the nearby college is … one of the few places left where young people can climb the ladder of opportunity and older adults can find a good job,’” and notes how these schools “secure the fraying social fabric that holds many towns together.” Here’s the twist: as these institutions crumble, they’re not just a loss for their towns — they’re an invitation to a radically new role for adult education.
We are living through a seismic shift. Small liberal-arts colleges are shutting down at record rates, their campuses emptying as enrollment falls, cost structures balloon, and the “degree guarantee” myth fades. What once served 18-to-22-year-olds is no longer what it was. But here’s the opportunity: those very campuses — the dorms, dining halls, quads, theaters — can become home to midlife wisdom schools or gap year academies. Institutions designed not for first jobs, but for next chapters.
Consider the demographic arc. People are living longer, working longer, and redefining retirement. For many, lives routinely span 90 years or more. In a world where 50+ is not winding down but stepping up, the half-life of education cannot stop at 22. We need places where 40-, 50-, 60-something souls (and older) gather to reimagine, reconnect, and reignite.
These repurposed campuses already have infrastructure — space for communal living, quiet for reflection, and proximity for peer-learning that midlife transformation demands. Traditional universities struggle because they’re still built on a model for the young and credential-driven. But midlife wisdom schools are built on purpose, meaning, integration, and the lived experience people bring. It’s not about lifelong learning, but “longlife learning” as I wrote about in this white paper from 5 years ago.
Financially, the model makes sense too. Instead of chasing a shrinking pool of 18-year-olds, these schools tap into a rising segment of adults seeking depth over diplomas. Employers may partner, alumni may fund, communities may host. The value isn’t measured purely in future income — it’s measured in resilience, service, legacy.
It’s not just saving campus real estate — it’s reorienting education to serve the full arc of life. Colleges weren’t designed for an 80-year life span; midlife wisdom schools are. We’re at a moment where the higher-ed system is thinning, and the question isn’t how to save it — it’s how to reinvent it for the longer life we now live.
So as campuses close and college towns worry, remember: the buildings aren’t collapsing. They’re clearing space. And if we move with vision and courage, midlife learning can step in, offering classrooms for living well, communities for aging boldly, and schools designed to carry us not to a career, but to a calling.
-Chip