In 1987, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation to
provide annual funding to establish an innovative center at the
University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA). The program would encourage active seniors to continue to
learn and to share their accumulated knowledge and expertise with
their communities. The North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement
(NCCCR) opened its doors in 1988 as a UNCA public service initiative
with statewide outreach components. The Center invited mid-life and
older adults to engage in a revolutionary new idea. These seasoned
adults would actively plan and carry out their own educational
programs for lifelong learning, leadership, community service,
wellness, and research in order to foster personal growth while
channeling their energies back into their communities, thus
benefiting members of all generations.
Anticipating the unprecedented demographic shift that is turning the
"youth culture" of the 1960s-80s into today's "aging society,"
legislators and university leaders acted to find ways that
retirement-aged people could renew their zeal for life and remain
vitally involved in civic affairs. They set into motion a mechanism
for social change that would make this university campus the
harbinger of a future "age-integrated society."
Impetus for establishment of the NCCCR came from then-UNCA
chancellor David Brown (1984-92) who led a team of planners made up
of faculty, community leaders, and administrators in developing the
concept of a center for older learners. Brown was able to convince
regional representatives of the NC General Assembly of the merits of
lifelong learning opportunities for older adults and the benefits of
using education as a means of integrating newcomers (Asheville is a
"retiree destination") into the community. This led to their
securing funding for the NCCCR. Subsequent chancellors and
legislators have been similarly enthusiastic and supportive of the
NCCCR's mission.
Since 1988, the idea of "creative retirement" has gained
considerable momentum. In only 14 years, the Center has grown from
150 to more than 1600 annual participants (both on and off campus),
gained a national reputation for its innovative approaches to
lifelong learning, garnered numerous awards, and received state and
national recognition in newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals,
and in television and radio profiles. In the midst of a university
campus primarily serving traditional-age undergraduates, the NCCCR
has become both a state and national laboratory for exploring
productive ways young and old can learn together and from one
another. These experiments are crucial because in just a couple of
decades today's undergraduates will belong to a society in which one
of every five persons will be over age 60.
NCCCR's Services, Programs, and Participants: The Emancipated Older
Learner
"Do not do for me, help me to do for myself" is the refrain often
heard among the hundreds of participants in NCCCR programs. The
Center is built on the concept of emancipated learning that is
unlike most adult and continuing education programs. Center
participants in the peer-learning and teaching program, College for
Seniors, do the yeoman's share of curriculum planning and teach most
of the courses on a volunteer basis. Fees paid by participants make
the College for Seniors largely self-supporting. Similarly,
"graduates" of the Center's community awareness program, Leadership
Asheville Seniors (LAS), plan the next year's seminars for new
participants. This philosophy of challenging older learners to
create their own learning opportunities, with the assistance of
small, highly-qualified paid professional staff, is a hallmark of
the Center's philosophy.
Senior adults play diverse role in NCCCR initiatives.
Seniors As Teachers for Undergraduates: Over 75 seniors with
backgrounds from chemistry to international business collaborate
with area undergraduates as tutors, mentors, and research partners.
Intergenerational classes link old and young in co-learning
ventures.
Multigenerational Off-Campus Classes: More than 1,000 adults in the
greater Asheville area benefit each year from the Center's
off-campus educational programs on national issues, coping
resourcefully with growing old (Aging Together Seminars), and
learning about community problems, heritage, and resources (Behind
the Scenes Tours).
Seniors As Peer Learners and Teachers: Approximately 900 residents
over age 50 annually enroll in the Center's College for Seniors
courses, ranging from arms control to web surfing. Significantly,
seniors themselves volunteer to teach 90 percent of the courses
offered. About one third of these volunteer teachers are former
teachers/scholars; the rest are mainly retired professionals with
expertise in a wide variety of fields. (See Appendix E. College for
Seniors Curriculum.)
Seniors As Community Leaders: Some 30-35 participants each year take
part in this eight week creative leadership program, Leadership
Asheville Seniors, which connects seniors with the people and
infrastructures that make the city and county work. The program also
links seniors' experience and skills with community leadership and
service needs.
Seminars for Potential Newcomers: Each spring, approximately 150
participants from 25 states attend the Creative Retirement
Exploration Weekend, where they gain information about retirement
options such as second careers, volunteerism, and lifelong learning.
Over 100 local volunteers, from civic leaders to recent retirees,
help coordinate and facilitate the program.
Seniors As Community Volunteers: Each year, more than 75 senior
volunteers are matched, according to interest and expertise, with
community needs. They become active in roles ranging from public
school tutors and classroom guest speakers to volunteers for Meals
on Wheels, prisons, and hospitals. An exemplary project, "Seniors
Mentoring Work First Participants," carried out with the Buncombe
County Department of Employment Services, matches retirees with
backgrounds in management, counseling, and social work with former
welfare recipients to help them succeed in the workplace.
Quality and Distinctiveness of NCCCR Programs
All NCCCR programs undergo continuous evaluation through participant
surveys and designated observer critiques. This information is
analyzed to improve both the content and delivery of programs. Since
older learners "vote with their feet," a measure of success is
reflected in the growth in the number of participants, their high
level of involvement in volunteer leadership, and the expanding
range of programs generated by participants and staff.
A new home - the Reuter Center
In June 2003 NCCCR moved from constricted spaces in campus buildings
to its new home –the Reuter Center. With 7 classrooms and offices
for staff in 20,000 sq.ft. on two levels there is ample space for
the Center's current activities and room for expansion of the
programs offered.
The following is evidence of the NCCCR's national and regional
prominence:
The Bush White House designated the NCCCR a national "Point of
Light," in recognition of the innovative approach that turns older
learners into community and campus servants.
North Carolina's then Governor James B. Hunt (1998) saluted the
Center for "a job well done" in his letter praising the Center and
its contribution to the state of North Carolina on the occasion of
its tenth anniversary.
The local four-county government planning council, Land of Sky
Regional Council, presented their 1991 annual award for outstanding
leadership to the Center and the same year the Asheville City
Council presented a proclamation declaring the NCCCR an outstanding
community asset.
In 1992, a specially convened citizens' committee of Redbook
magazine identified the NCCCR as one of 20 outstanding innovative
programs improving the quality of community life in the United
States.
In 2002 NCCCR received The National Council on Aging's Jack Ossofsky
Award at an annual conference in Denver. "The Center for Creative
Retirement and Ron Manheimer exemplify how imaginative programs and
bold leadership can enrich the lives of older adults," said James
Firman, NCOA president.
National media coverage of the NCCCR's educational and volunteer
programs has been extensive. Features have appeared in such
publication as:
New York Times (1990 and 1999)
Christian Science Monitor (1989 and 1998)
Parade magazine cover story (1991)
Business Week (1998)
Chicago Tribune (1998)
Wall Street Journal (1998
Foresight [ a Japanese business magazine] (1999)
Philadelphia Inquirer (11/13/2000) - Un-Retirement Option
Baltimore Sun (3/29/2001) - Un-Retirement Option
RetireSouth - about NCCCR
The Center has also been featured on CNN, North Carolina Public
Television, and National Public Radio.
For more information on NCCCR call
(828) 251-6140 or e-mail ncccr@unca.edu
