Roger Axford

Hall of Fame Class of 1996

Roger Axford is Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University (ASU) where his work in adult education and his vision of society's needs led to the creation and presidency of the Re-Careering Institute, a counseling service that helps individuals anticipate and accomplish job redirection and retraining. He would like to see the term "retirement" disappear. Instead, he seeks to offer midlifers and retirees a dynamic alternative either as paid employees or volunteers. He is widely published. One of his books, Successful Recareering: How to Shift Gears Before You Are Over The Hill, recounts 24 case studies of older workers who discovered hidden talents and put them to use. From 1969 to 1971 he created and hosted 270 programs for a radio series in Maine called "Life Can Be Richer."

A social activist, he was president of the Tempe ACLU and served on the state board. He also began the Coalition for World Peace, a student and faculty group at ASU that has held a noontime lecture/discussion session each week for more than twelve years.

He has conducted many international study tours to Norway, Mexico, Guatemala, Great Britain, China, and Japan and is deeply committed to grater cross-cultural understanding.