The Institute for Retired Professionals (IRP) was founded in 1962 by a group of New York City school teachers who sought to continue their intellectual development after retirement. The IRP was developed to address the problem of retirees adjusting from full time work to “total idleness.” It responded to the need for “a new type of adult learning program” which integrated the “skills, experience and talents of the educated retiree in an atmosphere of learning.”

The IRP’s innovation lay in its peer-learning model under which members organized and taught courses themselves. The creation of courses and their delivery was entirely member run and depended upon members’ interests. New courses were offered each term. This peer-learning model inspired similar programs for retirees at institutions such as Harvard University, Duke University, and Brooklyn College. In this way, the IRP had a significant impact upon the life-long learning movement across the country.

Membership of the IRP was originally limited to the retired professional, which suggested some higher education or a college degree. It was considered especially necessary for them “to find a substitute for the previous challenges and absorbing interests provided by their work.” However, since its founding, the IRP’s membership was extended to anyone with “a desire to be academically challenged, a commitment to continued intellectual exploration, and a willingness to actively participate in the organization.”

The IRP had four directors while at The New School: Hyman ("Hy") Hirsch, 1962-1979; Henry Lipman, 1979-1988; Michael Markowitz 1988-2016; Elizabeth DiMarco Weinmann, 2017. The IRP was transferred to the Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY) in the summer of 2020 and has since been renamed the Lifelong Peer Learning Program (LP2).

Sources:

"About." Institute for Retired Professionals (IRP). The New School. Accessed March 23, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160415122131/http://www.newschool.edu/institute-for-retired-professionals/about/#expand

“At the New School, Retired Adults are Educating Each Other.” New York Times, December 18, 1986. Accessed March 23, 2016: http://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/18/garden/at-the-new-school-retired-adults-are-educating-each-other.html

Hirsch, Hyman. “Higher Education in Retirement: The Institute for Retired Professionals.” The International Journal of Aging and Human Development 8, no. 4 (1978): 367-374. https:/doi.org/10.2190/UX3E-3Q17-TY84-TB7T.

"Lifelong Peer Learning Program." Graduate Center CUNY. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://www.gc.cuny.edu/lifelong-peer-learning-program.

"The Graduate Center, CUNY Launches New Lifelong Learning Program with the Institute for Retired Professionals." Graduate Center CUNY. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/graduate-center-cuny-launches-new-lifelong-learning-program-institute-retired-professionals