In July, Carleton University announced the expansion of the Learning in Retirement (LinR) program to include classes—called lecture series—to be offered at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre (CDCC), starting this upcoming fall semester.
Registration opened on Aug. 8 for the classes which Carleton will be offering in September 2019 at the CDCC through the LinR program.
The CDCC, also known as the historic Dominion-Chalmers United Church on Cooper and O’Connor, was purchased by the university in May 2018.
“The program is far more than just old retired people who don’t care. It’s just the opposite. These are very active people who do care and the program could easily have a different name.” – Dr. Elliot Tepper, Carleton professor and LinR lecturer
The CDCC is managed by Carleton’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS).
The expansion of the LinR program in the upcoming semester will be the first time lectures offered through the university will take place at the CDCC.
LinR is a “lifelong learning” program which offers non-credit courses—called lecture series—taught by Carleton and uOttawa professors, as well as other experts in the Ottawa community on a variety of subjects.
“We thought that it would have appeal, but we knew that there wasn’t a ton of guaranteed parking down there and we were wondering what the take-up would be like,” Uras said.
“I’m happy to say that our registration opened [on Aug. 8] and almost all of the classes at that location have already [been] filled.”
The program is unique because it allows participants to learn for the fun of it, rather than in order to meet their degree requirements, said Uras.
“There are no required readings or assignments or anything like that, so it’s just learning for fun, from the experts,” she said.
“These are learners who really want to be there, and they’re choosing to come … They’re doing this because they just are interested, and they want to take in new information and engage with other people about it.”
The demographic of learners in the program is diverse, as well as the reasons participants have for joining the lectures, she added.
One of the most popular topics, she added, is physics.
Dr. Elliot Tepper, professor at Carleton’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) and a lecturer with LinR, said a common misconception about the program is that it is only for people who are retired or elderly.
“I think one thing that should be emphasized is that although the name is called Learning in Retirement, it could equally be called ‘Lifelong Learning,’” said Dr. Elliot Tepper, professor at Carleton NPSIA.
“The program is far more than just old retired people who don’t care. It’s just the opposite. These are very active people who do care and the program could easily have a different name.”
Mara Brown, the first director of the CDCC, said the building is currently undergoing renovations and technology updates to prepare classrooms for the incoming LinR lectures and other activities.
“There’s been a lot of care that’s been ongoing here … There’s been a lot of effort put forth to maintain the building and keep the bones really great,” Brown said.
“There are so many heritage buildings that unfortunately face disrepair … But in this case, the folks have been maintaining it really well.”
“Really, it’s just such a pleasure to work in this program and to read people’s feedback and see how much it means to them, to offer this kind of really intellectual content in a non-credit way,” Uras said.
Feature image by Tim Austen
