Continuing contributions of older academics.

Academics go through many stages. Perhaps the most challenging is retirement. This article summarizes some of the challenges and opportunities that await. Now that we are all living longer and healthier, it seems a waste of human capital not to utilize the hard-won skills of academia during our later years in new and creative ways. Although health and memory cannot be taken for granted, most older academics continue to evolve, gain wisdom, and make new types of contributions to society.