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Retirees

Retiree Activities

group of diverse senior men posing together, laughing, outdors with football

Ways to stay active and enjoy your retirement!

Upcoming Events:

Stay tuned for upcoming events!

Activities through Cornell

Cornell Wellness Program

Cornell Wellness Program: Retirees and their spouses/partners can choose from a wide range of activities, lectures and workshops that support fitness, nutrition, and well-being. Swimming, healthy aging, cooking, yoga, knitting, and meditation are just a few of the many programs available. Visit the Cornell Wellness website for all the details.

Cornell Recreation Connection (CRC)

The Cornell Recreation Connection (CRC) encourages camaraderie and the Cornell spirit among staff, faculty, and retirees through social experiences and recreational events, including popular discounted day trips to New York City and other destinations.

Cornell Arts

Take advantage of the wealth of cultural events that take place on campus. Many are free or discounted for seniors and retirees.

  • Cornell Concert Series: Enjoy world-class performances from visiting artists.
  • Cornell Music Department: Recitals by faculty and students, as well as performances by visiting ensembles and artists.
  • Performing & Media Arts: Experience presentations, screenings, Q&A’s and theatrical performances.
  • Cornell Cinema: Hundreds of films and videos, including classics, indies, foreign and special events are screened every year.
  • Johnson Museum: Cornell’s iconic art museum, designed by architect I.M. Pei, offers retirees a wide range of educational programs, special tours, and hands-on workshops.

Cornell Athletics

Retirees with 10-24 years of service enjoy the same privileges at athletic events as employees; and retirees with 25 years of service, or emeritus professors, are offered two tickets to all athletic contests (except Men’s Ice Hockey and post-season contests). Visit the Cornell Big Red website for schedules and more information.

Retirees can also enjoy discounted memberships or use of athletic facilities, including:

Campus Club at Cornell

The purpose of Campus Club at Cornell is to foster friendships between all Ithaca women, primarily discovered through small groups enjoying shared interests.  Membership opens the door to more than twenty diverse activity groups, as well as the social events, lectures, and service options currently enjoyed by 350 women across the community.  Sign up for desired activities online. Cornell affiliation is not required to join and the organization is not officially supported by the university.  

Activities Outside Cornell

Memoirs & Writing Resources

  • The Legacy Project: A Cornell-based collection of wisdom for living, comprised of more than 1,500 contributions made by adults aged 70 and older, transformed into “lessons” that everyone of any age can put into practice. The site invites you to share your stories with a worldwide audience.
  • Community Arts Partnership (CAP): An organization that provides technical assistance, grant opportunities, and professional services and information for artists and arts organizations, as well as public programs that celebrate and support the arts community in Tompkins County. Experienced and aspiring writers may want to participate in CAP’s annual Spring Writes Literacy Festival, which includes workshops, panels, performances, and public events featuring local experts & artists.
  • StoryCorps: An archive of more than 45,000 interviews with nearly 90,000 everyday people, StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Ithaca Area Arts 

  • Ithaca Art Trail: Visit art studios and meet local artists.
  • Community School of Music and Arts: Instruction in languages, music, dance, theatre, and the visual arts available to learners of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds. 
  • Senior Theatre Troupe of Lifelong: The Senior Troupe has been performing for more than fifteen years. Improvisational theatre workshops held at Lifelong feature personal life stories. The director and members of the troupe range in age from the 60’s to the 90’s. Their innovative form of theatre, called “choral theatre,” can accommodate the various ages and physical stamina of the actors, and uses themes that the actors pick and then develop into stories from their lives. For more information go to www.tclifelong.org or call 607-273-1511.

Beyond Ithaca

  • Cornell Club New York: Retired Cornell faculty and staff are eligible to join the Cornell Club in New York City at a discounted membership rate, in addition to the waived initiation fee.
  • Cornell Club – Regional Club Connections: Retired faculty and staff who have moved away and are interested in maintaining connections with Cornellians in their area can contact their regional Cornell Club.