Gustavus Adolphus College administrators are in the earliest stages of looking at housing seniors on their campus —not fourth-year students, but those who may have graduated decades ago.

On-campus retirement communities are a growing trend on college and university campuses nationwide, one that caught the attention of Gustavus Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Ken Westphal.

For about a year, Westphal has explored the idea of partnering with a development group that would build and manage housing for faculty, staff and alumni 55 years old and older on the St. Peter campus.

“For some, the best years of their lives may have been their college experience, so the thought of returning to that near the end of their working career ... is something they would be interested in,” Westphal said.

For retirees or older working adults, a campus can be a mentally and physically stimulating environment, where they can sit in on a lecture or play on the campus tennis court.

For schools, bringing retirees or older working people into the campus mix offers both academic and financial opportunities.

“We’re always looking at ways to broaden our revenue base (and) we’re looking at ways to establish different links with alumni,” Westphal said.

‘Very involved’

Some retirees retreat to warmer climates to live out their later years, but Elizabeth Dexter never considered it.

“That doesn’t appeal to me at all,” Dexter said by phone Thursday from her home in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Dexter has lived in University Commons — a mix of townhomes and duplexes on the University of Michigan campus — since construction was completed in 2001. The retirement community is restricted to adults 55 years old or older (an age Dexter said she is “well past”).

“It has been just right for me,” she said.

Like most residents, Dexter is an alumnus of the university, having earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in social work. She has continued her studies since returning to campus, and is currently enrolled in history, music and creative writing classes.

University Commons is located on land purchased from the University of Michigan, but far from the center of campus.

“If you lived right next to student housing, that would be a hazard,” Dexter said.