Thanks to lifelong learning institutes, seniors are exercising their minds and discovering that school is more fun the second time around.
In her mid-70s, Anne Owens was keeping toned with weight resistance training, serving on an arts commission and her HOA, and volunteering at film festivals. But it wasn’t enough. The retired reference librarian was stretching her legs at the gym, but she wasn’t stretching her mind. Then she spotted a catalogue for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at ASU.
Since then, she’s delved into myriad subjects including “Forensic DNA Analysis,” “Bach, Beethoven and Brahms,” and “The History of Animation and Anime,” which helped her connect with her grandson when they went to Comicon.
“Think of all the things I wouldn’t have gotten to investigate or been exposed to,” Owens says in an ASU West classroom, where she’s taking “Little Gorillas, Big Chimpanzees: Exploring the Evolving Human Primate Through the Social Sciences.”
This super-cool septuagenarian is one of a growing group of seniors who agree with Henry Ford’s maxim, “Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” A handful of Valley organizations is helping them turn back the mental clock through short classes that are far more fascinating than College Algebra 101.
“There have been so many scientific studies that are talking now about how important it is to keep feeding your brain so you can stay younger longer,” says Sally Underwood, OLLI’s ASU West coordinator. “So we’ve seen an influx of people [coming] into our classes just because they want that healthier lifestyle. These classes are feeding that need to keep the brain engaged.”
In 2001, ASU professors Vincent Waldron and Richard Knopf recognized that need and launched a series of non-credit courses for adults ages 50 and older. Three years later, the program’s success earned it a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation, which funds encore learning at 119 institutions nationwide. Now, ASU’s 1,400-plus OLLI members get schooled at five locations Valleywide.
Though courses are inexpensive (free to $45, plus a $15 per semester membership fee), instructors are top-notch. Teaching “Little Gorillas, Big Chimpanzees” is Dr. Don Sharpes, an ASU emeritus professor, senior visiting fellow at Cambridge University, and the recipient of five Fulbright scholarships. After the lecture, about 80 eager students convene to get a sneak peek at the 100-odd classes they can take in spring.
“Around the World Tuesdays” features experts lecturing about contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa, Russia and more. This season’s partnership with Phoenix Theatre combines discount tickets to Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill with a lecture about Billie Holiday. And non-squeamish seniors can become black widow researchers under the watchful eye of an arachnologist.
OLLI students also enjoy deals at cultural institutions including the Heard Museum, Arizona Opera and The Nash jazz venue. “We’re very big on building community in our classes,” Underwood says. “So [students are] meeting people in the classes and they’re also seeing these new friends out taking advantage of these cultural events.”
“You meet people here you might want to be friends with,” Owens says, dropping her voice as she adds, “You could go for a square mile in Glendale and not necessarily find anybody who thinks much about things that are interesting and mind-expanding. There’s people in here who think.”
In the East Valley, New Frontiers for Lifelong Learning also attracts thinkers. Founded in 1995, the self-governing organization offers around 75 classes a semester, like “Science in the 20th Century,” “Bird Identification,” and “The History of Impressionism.” Lectures often have a practical bent, such as “Nutrition for Seniors,” “Operate Your iPhone,” and “Improve Your Posture.” Its 379 members also organize hikes, lunches, and tours of such sites as the Vulture Mine in Wickenburg and the Amazon Warehouse in Phoenix. “Our main goal is to keep as many people as active and engaged as they can possibly be,” says president Marlin Fried, who’s been hitting the trails with the group for 15 years. “It’s an opportunity to meet interesting people with similar interests and enjoy life. Life is good.”
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at ASU: 602-543-6440, lifelonglearning.asu.edu
New Frontiers for Lifelong Learning: 480-461-7497, newfrontiers.mesacc.edu
More Senior Schools
Encore University, based at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, offers secular and religious courses, a breakfast lecture series, museum tours, multi-day excursions, book clubs, and classes like painting and piano. 480-991-6424 ext.165, encoreuniv.org
Courses at the Bureau of Jewish Education in Scottsdale have a Judaic focus, including Hebrew and Yiddish conversation for beginners, “The Middle East in Conflict through the Eyes of the Media,” and “A Guide to Healthy Living – Advice and Guidance from Maimonides.” 480-634-8050, bjephoenix.org
At sun city grand’s Grand Learning Center, seniors can learn how to play the Native American flute, explore astronomy, discuss Islam, discover the history of household items in “A Biography of Buns,” and much more. 623-546-7470, grandlearning.org
