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"Engaging minds, enriching lives."
It's a slogan for Augsburg College's innovative College of the Third
Age. But more importantly, it's a philosophy that has been lived out
and expanded through a quarter-century of taking educational opportunities
to older learners in an ever-widening arc around the Twin Cities.
Modeled
after a similar program at the University of Toulouse in France, and
named after the French concept of the "third age" as the time
of maturity (following youth and adulthood), the program is the brainchild
of the late Augsburg professors Mimi and Einar Johnson. They devised
a program of providing learning opportunities for older adults taught
by older adults. But, to make the concept even more palatable, the Johnsons,
along with social work professor Vern Bloom, the program's first director,
came up with a novel idea. Instead of having the learners come to the
College, they would take the program to the learners.
Courses
were taught in high-rise apartment buildings, community centers, and
churches. Not only did the idea catch on, but it took off and has not
stopped growing.
Starting
with 12-20 courses and 300 participants in the first three years, the
program now has some 200 courses and nearly 8,000 students annually.
Yet, it still has room to grow, particularly in areas where participants
need assistance in paying for course fees.
 "Our
goal," said current director Karen Lindesmith, "is to celebrate
the 25th anniversary of the program by holding an anniversary event
to raise funds for an endowment. We hope we can build the endowment
to $15,000 or more and then use the interest to help serve urban churches
or high-rises where they can't afford to pay."
Fees
for a course are $85, with just $10 going to program administration
and the remainder to the instructor. The endowment fund has been started,
kicked off by a donation from Mimi, who was both a co-founder of the
program and its second director.
The
event Lindesmith and a volunteer committee envision is one that features
a nationally-known speaker in a celebration of life, faith, and learning.
She said the College of the Third Age hopes to hold its special program
sometime during the 2002-2003 academic year and has targeted this October
as the primary date. 
"This
idea was proposed by Mimi just before her death last year," Lindesmith
said. "Now we have a six-member planning committee leading the
way, but we hope to recruit many more volunteers to help make this a
success." The committee is being headed by Sonny (Sonja) Albers,
wife of Central Lutheran Church pastor Rev. Robert Albers. Rep. Martin
Sabo ’59 and his wife, Sylvia, and Bill and Anne Frame will serve
as honorary chairs.
Lindesmith
has led the program, as only the fourth director, since September 1998.
She succeeded Bettye Olson, a well-known local artist and teacher in
the program herself, who took the reins from Johnson in 1992 and continued
the program's expansion. Under Olson's leadership, the program began
using local cable television as yet another outlet for its faculty members.
While
the majority of the faculty are retired Augsburg College professors,
others come from backgrounds in institutions throughout Minnesota. Luminaries
such as Frank Wright, longtime Minneapolis Star Tribune writer,
also teach courses.
The
program has expanded to all corners of the seven-county metropolitan
area and is now being requested in such settings as the Athena Group
in Edina, LEAF in Fridley, and SALT in Dakota County. As it always has,
it is run on a shoestring budget, a fact that Lindesmith says makes
the proposed fundraising event even more important.
"With
the demographic bump coming from the Baby Boom Generation's aging, I
think there's only going to be more and more interest in this sort of
lifelong learning," Lindesmith said. "A lot of people over
the years have given it a whole lot more than what they've been paid
to do. It's a wonderful program. I'm glad I've been able to be part
of offering older learners the chance to expand their minds and have
some adventures in learning along the way."
To
learn more about College of the Third Age, call 612-330-1139.
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College
of the Third Age courses range from art to angels
When
College of the Third Age first got off the ground, its early faculty
members were challenged to utilize "scholarly creativity"
in their course development. What resulted was a rich and varied curriculum
for the hundreds of participants who jumped at the chance to test
the learning waters.
Early
courses ranged from "Speech Patterns of the Upper Midwest,"
taught by Harold B. Allen, to "Scandinavian Forest Practices,"
by Dr. Henry Hanson. "Astronomy and the Bible," by Dr. Theodore
Hanwick; "The Roots of Native American Spirituality," by
Dr. Thomas Raitt; and "Memories in Poetry and Prose," by
Trudy Stechmann also were on the learning palate.
Today,
thousands of older learners continue to be treated to similar creativity.
Among the course offerings in this year's curriculum are titles ranging
from art to angels, but not in the "traditional" sense.
Art
and Architecture titles, for example, include "Sacred Stones
of the World," a look at places such as Stonehenge and Easter
Island, taught by Hazel Stoeckeler. "The Story of Stained Glass,"
taught by Jim Nelson, emphasizes this artistic medium's history as
well as techniques in its making.
Nelson
also has a course in the "angels" category, titled "Angels:
What on Earth are They?" taught in the largest course-offering
category: Philosophy, Religion, and Spirituality. Other sessions in
that category range from "Faith Healing," taught by Walter
Benjamin, to "Religion, Coping and Grief," taught by Leola
Dyrud Furman.
In
the popular Music category, learners can study the recordings of Frank
Sinatra or the legacy of Bing Crosby, both with Arne Fogel, or the
music of Edvard Grieg with Carolyn Bliss.
Poetry
of every kind is offered in the Literature category, while "African
Wisdom" is part of the large International Relations and Cultures
division. Among the other division categories are Communication and
Mass Media; History, Geography, and Politics; Relationships, Sociology,
and Aging; and Women's Studies.
Regardless
of the category, however, classes are designed to fulfill the legacy
of the first instructors: providing "joyfulness in learning"
where mature learners reside or meet.
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