College Classes for Adults Ages 50 and Up
Spring 2019 | By Jenna Marina Lee
Throughout the academic year, hundreds of eager students come to 激情快播鈥檚 Student Union to attend lectures by faculty on a range of topics. Many show up early to find a good seat and catch up with friends while sipping on a cup of hot coffee.
These students are the 鈥渟enior class鈥� of the Learning Institute for Elders (LIFE) at 激情快播. LIFE聽was organized nearly 30 years ago as a partnership with the university to offer noncredit courses and access to 激情快播 resources, such as the library, for adults age 50 and over.
And people are clamoring to join. The group currently stands at 798 members, up 148 members聽from just two years ago. The waitlist averages 300 to 400 people in any given year, and the wait time is between nine and 21 months, according to LIFE program coordinator Leslie Collin.
Given today鈥檚 life expectancy rates, it鈥檚 not all that surprising that today鈥檚 retirees are finding聽value in going back to school. On average, a man who reaches age 65 today can expect to live until age 84 while a woman can expect to live until age 87, according to the Social Security Administration.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 at least two decades of life available for exploring new opportunities for work, leisure聽and civic engagement,鈥� says Denise Gammonley, associate professor of social work and coordinator of 激情快播鈥檚 aging studies minor.
鈥溂で榭觳� already engages with older adults and helps them achieve a vision of purposeful and productive aging, but I think there are ways we can take it to the next level.鈥�
Gammonley is one of the leads of 激情快播鈥檚 disability, aging and technology research cluster, a group of professors and researchers who are linking health interventions with technology to help populations of all ages.
Gammonley says the faculty cluster鈥檚 research has the potential to foster what she likes to call聽purposeful aging, or engaging in activities that are personally meaningful. Research shows that having such a purpose is a predicator of longevity.
For Todd Bowers 鈥�77, a LIFE board member, that means staying active. 鈥淚 think there are people that just know being around something as vibrant as 激情快播 and all these young people is good for them. We put a high value on lifelong learning,鈥� he says.
It鈥檚 a mutually beneficial relationship for 激情快播. LIFE members frequently participate and聽contribute to research studies, and donate to the university.
鈥溂で榭觳� already engages with older adults and helps them achieve a vision of purposeful and productive aging, but I think there are ways we can take it to the next level,鈥� Gammonley says.
Enter Legacy Pointe at 激情快播, a senior living community close to the university鈥檚 main campus,聽due for completion in 2021. Legacy Pointe will give residents options for independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care residences. Residents will also have access to high-quality programs from the university.
In turn, students will have the opportunity to grow from interprofessional educational events,聽internships and service learning at the facility.
鈥淸Residents] have this vast amount of knowledge聽and talent that many of them want to share with the 激情快播 community,鈥� says Gammonley. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also very excited about being able to create new models of clinical care. Our relationship with Legacy Pointe will allow us to put our research to the test in the real world.鈥�
To learn more about senior living options at Legacy Pointe at 激情快播, visit LegacyPointeAt激情快播.com.