N.C. Center for Creative Retirement Wins National Award

The North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement at UNC Asheville will receive a national award this week for its groundbreaking role in creating a group of successful programs that help older people renew their energies and stay connected to society through continued service and learning.

Ron Manheimer, the N.C. Center for Creative Retirement executive director, will accept 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.

Since its inception 14 years ago, NCCCR has been at the forefront of the growing field of learning in retirement. It has been featured twice in the N.Y. Times, as well as in Parade magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, the Wall Street Journal and in other newspapers and magazines. Visitors from as far away as Japan and Spain have traveled to Asheville to learn how to replicate it.

"What is central to NCCCR's appeal is that it invites participants to teach in, govern, and shape their own educational activities," Manheimer said. The wide range of programs includes the popular College for Seniors, Behind the Scenes Tours, Leadership Asheville Seniors, a number of volunteer programs, Intergenerational Co-Learning, and the Un-retirement Option, a program that helps recently retired people create new careers. More then 1,600 people annually participate in one or more of the center's offerings.

"This award highlights NCCCR's national role in drawing attention to how engaging older adults in lifelong learning enables them to find new and meaningful roles that benefit all members of our society," said Manheimer.

NCCCR is also a laboratory for exploring productive ways young and old can learn together and from one another. Manheimer has taught several intergenerational courses, and recently co-taught a creative writing course with UNCA Literature Professor Rick Chess. The class members -- nine traditional-age and seven 50-plus students -- found themselves exploring age and generations in their poetry and in class discussions. Manheimer also taught an intergenerational course on "1946: The Meaning of a Year" and used two class participants -- one a World war II submariner and one a Holocaust survivor -- to bring history to life for younger students. UNCA students served as teachers themselves in NCCCR's free computer literacy program that taught basic computer skills to mid- and lower-income older adults this past fall and this spring.

"The NCCCR has built a reputation as one of the nation's leading university-based programs for older adults," said UNCA Chancellor James Mullen. "A key factor in the center's success is the intergenerational nature of some of its initiatives, bringing young and old together in both learning and service programs."

Soon NCCCR will have a new home in which to expand its intergenerational offerings. The center recently wrapped up a $3.9 million campaign to construct a 20,000-square-foot classroom building on the UNCA campus. Groundbreaking was held in early December. The new building, Reuter Center, is expected to be completed in spring 2003.

Did You Know... 

-- According to the National Household Education Survey, during the 1990s the percentage of people in the U.S. who took at least one adult education class in the previous year more than doubled, from 8.4 percent to 19.9 percent.

-- Currently, there are about 300 Institutes for Learning in Retirement, similar to UNCA's College for Seniors, associated with colleges and universities in the U.S., and the number is growing.

-- There is a growing interest in lifelong learning outside the U.S., as well. Manheimer has been invited to talk about NCCCR most recently at the University of Granada, Spain, as well as in Sweden, Jerusalem, Kyoto, Japan, and in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Ron Manheimer, N.C. Center for Creative Retirement executive director, 828/251-6140
• Merianne Epstein, UNCA Public Information Director, 828/251-6676