After retiring from her position as a professor of linguistics and humanities at Maricopa Community Colleges in 2014, Kaden Sheffield continued to seek meaningful ways to contribute. She taught in China, studied jazz theory, and became a certified storyteller and spiritual director. Still searching for purpose, she joined the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) and later attended an information session about the new Distinguished Innovation Fellows program.
“I thought when I retired that I would pursue the arts, but I found that it wasn’t really structured enough and it didn’t feel like it had any benefit to anyone else,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield became part of the first cohort of Distinguished Innovation Fellows in 2024–25. Her project, called the Wisdom Tree, is ongoing.
The Distinguished Innovation Fellows program is part of The Difference Engine at ASU. This center focuses on interdisciplinary entrepreneurship to address inequalities within communities.
Applications for the program open in January for adults aged 55 and older. The cost is $20,000, with some scholarships available. Participants commit to a yearlong program that includes auditing up to six ASU courses and attending weekly meetings. At the end of the term, fellows present their projects in Los Angeles.
Each cohort consists of up to 10 fellows who are paired with an ASU faculty mentor. They take classes related to their projects and meet weekly for feedback and support.
Aaron Guest, assistant professor of aging at the Center for Innovation in Healthy and Resilient Aging within ASU’s Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, leads the weekly colloquium for fellows.
“For a long time in gerontology, we talked about this idea of the ‘third age,’ which was, you grow, you work, you retire and you have all this time in retirement to do new things,” Guest said. “Our entire society has changed and we’re really talking about the fourth and fifth age. People move in and out of careers, and increasingly, the older adult community is becoming a larger part of our society.”
Guest noted that this program reflects how ASU aims to remove barriers for all populations: “We have people with lots of expertise and experiences and ideas that they want to build on, but they don’t have an avenue or a venue to do it. And this program is providing that venue.”
Sheffield described her experience as intense but rewarding: “At our age, we’re looking at legacy-type things. Is this something I really want to spend what could be my final years doing? It’s very much worth it. You will learn things about yourself that maybe your whole life hasn’t taught you yet because you haven’t come up against some of those questions.”
Helen Hayes became director of the Distinguished Innovation Fellows earlier this year after leaving a long career in K-12 education.
“And I realized why a program like this is so beneficial — it provides purpose and connection,” Hayes said.
Hayes mentioned similar programs exist at other universities such as Stanford and Yale but believes empowering older adults through innovation will become more common: “At some point, there’s going to be a shorthand way to say, ‘I’m doing one of those programs.’”
Applicants must submit a project proposal oriented toward public good as well as demonstrate openness to collaborative learning: “The written application asks them to articulate what motivates them toward that project and the sense in which it is oriented toward the common good. The ‘why’ matters,” Hayes said.
The first cohort included Sian Proctor—an artist; ASU alum; adjunct faculty member; retired geoscience professor from Maricopa Community Colleges; and pilot during SpaceX Inspiration4 mission—who developed EarthLight: an initiative using science, storytelling, art, poetry, music, and immersive experiences inspired by her spaceflight.
Neil Urban—a participant from architecture—created Z-aXis City plan: reimagining cities as multi-layered ecosystems.
Guest observed participants needed less help choosing classes than expected but more assistance navigating ASU’s campuses: “They’re self-reflective — they know their strengths and they know their weaknesses.”
Sheffield’s Wisdom Tree project evolved throughout her participation: “Literally, in a couple of hours I had a rough draft I sent off as an application… And I was exhilarated and also a little terrified.” She used resources like student workers at Mesa’s Media Immersive eXperience Center makerspace while taking poetry/digital art classes.
“It folds out…you use one of five art forms based on senses…there’s a book…with exercises,” she explained regarding her interactive book designed for social connection among retirees or foster children.
René Díaz-Lefebvre—a retired psychology professor—participated twice; his first-year project involved creative learning modules for Barrett Honors College students while his current focus is producing a documentary about his grandmother Petra Óchoa Díaz—the first Mexican American trilingual graduate from Tempe Territorial Normal School (1897).
Díaz-Lefebvre shared: “I developed a prototype…Students had opportunity [for] sculptures…role-playing…poetry.” He added about his film work: “It’s challenging intellectually/academically—and personally so rewarding… We interact with fellow students who have accepted me as fellow learner.”
Arizona State University has been recognized nationally for its innovative approaches across disciplines and was named number one in innovation by U.S. News & World Report for eight consecutive years.
