About AROHE
The concept of an annual conference for on-campus retirement organizations emerged after a 1984 survey of
public and private universities was conducted by the University of Southern California Emeriti Center. Only a quarter
of the over 100 respondents indicated that their campus had any formal group or center focusing on retired persons or their
interests. James Peterson, Arnold Small, and Harriet Servis coordinated the first Conference on Retirement in
California Colleges and Universities in May 1985 at USC with ten institutions represented.
The newly-named "West Coast Conference on Retirement in Colleges and Universities" continued
annually at USC from 1986 to 1988 and became an international effort at the fifth conference in 1989 at the University of
Washington, where twenty-two institutions from the U.S. and Canada were represented. Efforts to expand the conference
beyond the West Coast stalled when the 1990 conference, to be held at Purdue University, was canceled due to low
registration. However, a group of prior participants revived the effort eight years later, resulting in the 1998
conference held aboard the Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas.
At the end of a conference held by North Carolina State University in 2000, a group of participants
re-evaluated the program and decided to establish a formal, multi-campus association that would be dedicated to providing a
forum for the discussion of all aspects of retirement in higher education. AROHE was launched with Paul Hadley of the
University of Southern California as its organizing president. In 2002, AROHE held its inaugural conference in
Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana University). It was at this conference that the name Association of Retirement
Organizations in Higher Education was officially proposed and accepted. Later that year, AROHE was officially
incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
AROHE held subsequent conferences in Nashville, Tennessee, in
2004 (Vanderbilt University); and Tempe, Arizona, in 2006 (Arizona State University). In addition to publishing a
newsletter and online resources, AROHE continues to host biennial conferences. Two significant recent accomplishments
have been the development of a "Start-up Kit" to assist other institutions of higher education in forming retirement
organizations. The second accomplishment is conducting a "Survey of College and University Retiree
Organizations" to help members and others learn about what educational institutions are doing to support, serve,
advocate for, engage, utilize, and honor their retired faculty and staff.
We believe with confidence that there is an important role for AROHE and that our programs of support for
faculty and staff retirees will benefit from international communication. We believe, moreover, that our roles in
support of our respective universities will be strengthened as a result of this organization.
We hope you will join other well-known universities and consider membership in AROHE.
Start-up and Development Kit
The AROHE "Start-up and Development Kit" is a guide for individuals who seek to set up faculty or
staff retirement organizations at their host institutions. The Kit summarizes the experiences of members of successful
retiree groups and presents guidance on how to begin and maintain a retiree organization. Included in the document are
sample by-laws, strategic plans, and histories of active organizations.
Individuals or organizations desiring a copy of the "Start-up and Development Kit" should contact
Janette Brown at jcbrown@usc.edu or write to her at:
USC Emeriti Center
3715 McClintock Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0191
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