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In Your Hands
The Planning Committee of the Center Steering Council developed the
document in your hands in preparation for our January 10, 2003 retreat to
explore possible futures for the NC Center for Creative Retirement. Our
intent is not to advance a specific vision but to underscore why
long-range planning is important and why NCCCR should respond pro-actively
to changes in the environment that could impact our programs. “Your Vision
of 2012,” and the retreat are first steps in a series of conversations
about the future.
1. Some Elements of Change
When the Center opened in 1988, it was newsworthy. There were then only
about 50 other college and university-sponsored, peer-learning and
teaching programs in the United States – so-called Institutes for Learning
in Retirement. Now there are about 300 ILRs, including several in our area
(e.g. at Montreat College and Blue Ridge Community College). The ILR
movement continues to grow.
Nationally, other types of organizations have entered the lifelong
learning field, including banks, labor unions, university alumni
associations, travel-learning companies, hospitals (mainly offering
wellness programs), department stores (notably, the May Company’s arts and
humanities-focused OASIS Institutes), and special interest groups like
Seniornet, the national association promoting computer usage among
seniors. They join long-running programs like Elderhostel (started in
1975), tuition-free course opportunities at public colleges, and
educational programs offered by senior centers and agricultural extension
services. Added are the growing numbers of on-line learning services such
as AARP’s “Explore, Discover, Learn with AARP.”
Development has also brought changing attitudes about terminology. In
November of 2002, the Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN), a 12 year-old
membership association of some 200+ ILRs sponsored by Elderhostel (to
which we currently belong), announced a name change. ILR is out and LLI,
Lifelong Learning Institutes, is in. EIN leaders argue that, increasingly,
their members reject the label “retired.”
Several AARP national surveys underscore the name change. Baby boomers,
AARP has found, claim overwhelmingly (80%) that they are going to continue
to work “in retirement.” They may exit the labor force but will return in
different roles and on different terms than before: part-time,
self-employed, or in a new career. So far, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reports a slight increase in average retirement age. This is
the first sign of an upward trend.
As the arenas of aging, lifelong learning, and retirement continue to
change, we ask ourselves: How, from our little corner of North Carolina,
should we respond? Our program has not been static. Our curricula have
become increasingly diverse, numbers have grown, and our clientele has
varied. Soon we will move to our own building, presenting us with a unique
opportunity.
Picture the Reuter Center in five years, or 10! That’s what we want you,
the volunteer leadership of NCCCR, to do, along with the NCCCR staff. For,
if not us, then who should take on this challenge?
Points to Ponder:
Should NCCCR reconsider its current identity as an age-segregated lifelong
learning program for older adults?
What alternative frameworks might we consider? Which are feasible?
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