Local retirement home residents participate in Rice continuing education program

Senior class
Local retirement home residents participate in Rice continuing education program

BY LYNETTE MCGLAMERY
Special to the Rice News

The students in the large room listen raptly to Steven Lewis, professor of the practice of humanities, research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and director of the Asian Studies Program, as he talks about modern China’s culture. They take notes, whisper to their neighbors when Lewis makes an interesting point and ask him thoughtful questions.

JEFF FITLOW

Steven Lewis, professor of the practice of humanities and research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, speaks with an attendee at his Continuing Studies lecture at The Hallmark, a retirement center in the Galleria.

This could be a typical scene in one of Rice’s famed undergraduate classes. But these students sport a little more gray hair than the typical Rice undergraduate. They are all residents at The Hallmark or other retirement centers in the Houston Galleria area.

Lewis’ presentation was part of a six-week lecture series held recently at The Hallmark and sponsored by the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.

The idea for the lecture series started at the grassroots level, with Elizabeth Land Kaderli ’43, a seven-year resident at The Hallmark, contacting Steve Garfinkel, community programs manager for the Continuing Studies, with her idea.

Kaderli said she had an ”epiphany” while reading an article about classes for seniors in an in-flight magazine last December on her way to see her daughter in Seattle.

”At The Hallmark, there are lots of activities like bridge and trips,” Kaderli said. ”But there really was nothing for the head.”

She said that random speakers came to The Hallmark every once in a while to give presentations, but that there hadn’t been a structured course for residents since she had lived there.

Garfinkel said that the idea resonated with him and Mary McIntire, dean of Continuing Studies, because more than 30 Rice alumni and former faculty and staff live at The Hallmark, many of whom are avid participants in and supporters of Rice Continuing Studies.

”Many of them don’t have the ability to get out or don’t like to drive at night when most of our courses are offered,” Garfinkel said. ”So what better way to fulfill their intellectual needs than by bringing Rice to them?”

Garfinkel and McIntire, working with Sheryl Callahan, executive director of The Hallmark, got the ball rolling very quickly. Last spring, they formed an advisory group of 10 Hallmark residents to get initial input, sent a survey to all Hallmark residents to see what topics most interested them and held a final meeting with the residents to narrow down the topics.

”Just talking about the course sparked much intellectual discussion,” McIntire said.

The anticipation of the Wednesday afternoon lecture series generated a lot of buzz and excitement throughout The Hallmark in the summer, so it came as no surprise that when Continuing Studies opened the registration for the course in late September, all 85 slots were filled on the first day, with all but eight participants coming from The Hallmark.

”We had planned to distribute flyers to the other retirement centers and do other types of publicity because we thought it would be a great way for the residents from the different centers to interact with each other, as well as with family members,” McIntire said. ”We were astounded at the response we received. We hated to turn people away.” 

Callahan said that the lecture series, which covered diverse topics from religions and Gothic cathedrals to the November elections and the novel ”Gilead,” was just the type of intellectual stimulation her residents wanted.

”The needs of our retirees are different from those 30 years ago,” she said. ”Today’s retirees want to be active and be well, and part of wellness is stimulating their minds. Most of them have college educations, and they want to keep learning.”

Bill Akers, who worked at Rice for 46 years as a chemical engineering professor and as vice president of administration, echoed this sentiment. ”We may not have a lot of energy, but we do have a lot of curiosity.”

Josephine ”Jay” Rodgers, who earned a master’s degree at Rice and lives at The Hallmark with her husband, Tom, said that at dinner following a lecture, that was all everyone talked about.

”It has been a positive experience for the residents because it gives us something different to talk about and to look forward to,” she said.

Marion Hargrove ’43, who lives at nearby Four Leaf Towers and jokingly claims that Rice University and the Presbyterian church are her life, said that she loves going to Continuing Studies classes held on the Rice campus but is now able to go only to the ones in the afternoon.

”Attending a course at The Hallmark is so convenient for me,” she said. ”I not only get to learn new things but I can do so with my many friends at The Hallmark, including Elizabeth [Kaderli], whom I have known since junior high.”

McIntire said that the school was able to offer the lecture series this fall and for three more semesters, thanks to the generosity of Ray Strange ’36, a Hallmark resident. McIntire said that the school has to charge tuition for the course to cover speakers’ fees and to offset logistical costs. Strange’s gift allowed the school to offer residents a significantly lower fee than what the school would normally charge for one of its courses.

”Many retirees are on a limited budget, so keeping course fees low was essential for us even to have the course,” she said.

McIntire said that with the resounding success of the lecture series at The Hallmark, she hopes that they can obtain support to offer similar courses at retirement centers in other parts of Houston.

”Senior citizens make up a significant portion of Continuing Studies’ participants,” she said. ”To fulfill our commitment to lifelong learning, we have to make sure that we adapt our courses to meet their changing needs.”