After a career’s work is done, the learning continues for Bull City retirees.
At the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke, students—who are mostly local retirees—are taking advantage of the program’s full array of educational experiences. Opportunities range from classes like “Exploring Cinema” and “Chinese Brush Painting” to social activities, such as ballroom dancing and poetry reading.
The courses are not for Duke credit but are linked to Duke facilities, such as the libraries and dining halls. Currently, OLLI is centered in The Bishop’s House on East Campus and has over 1,500 members.
“I like that there is such a good assortment of classes to choose from,” said Jon Edland, on OLLI student and retiree of four years. “For my career, I was involved with business, but it is such a great feeling to take classes in everything but business. I’m just having fun.”
CNN Money recently ranked Durham no. 1 in its “Top 25 Places to Retire,” praising OLLI at Duke and calling the University’s lifelong-learning program “stellar.” The piece cited Durham’s dual artistic and athletic flairs and called the city a “Mecca” of retirement; one could stroll through grassy golf courses by day and frequent the Nasher Museum of Art or Durham Performing Arts Center by night.
Garry Crites, program director for continued education, said much of the program’s success depends on peer instruction. Although some instructors also teach undergraduates at the University, volunteers—who are often also members of OLLI—can teach as well. It fosters a cooperative and versatile learning experience in which, for example, former doctors can now teach history, he added.
“I have friends here who retired who have been busier in retirement than they were when they were working,” Judy Stafford, a statistical programmer for the Duke Clinical Research Institute who teaches folk dance at OLLI, wrote in an e-mail.
Faye Gregory, facilitator for OLLI’s Single Women’s Social Group, noted that the program provides retirees with a “warm and friendly place” to make friends. A retiree herself, she has seen her group’s membership approximately double in the last four years, with 55 members currently involved, she said.
When asked about any weaknesses of the programs, Crites and Gregory had no real complaints. The main area of need is finding more spacious rooms, necessitated by OLLI’s growing popularity.
Duke undergraduates can interact with OLLI students through the “Intergenerational Ethics” house course held on Sundays.
“At college, you just rarely get the opportunity to interact on a personal scale with other generations,” senior Samuel Heroy, the house course’s co-instructor, wrote in an e-mail. “We can learn a lot from people with more experience and try to come to terms with different views across different generations.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.