JEFFREY ROSEN, Loyola University
MARC FREEDMAN, founder and President, Civic Ventures

    Teaching, research, and community service are the three chief guideposts that describe faculty life and form many of the social commitments of our institutions. University Continuing Education, with its roots in outreach and external affairs, has long been associated with extending the academic mission of the University into diverse communities. Yet our effort to develop innovative curricula or to cultivate fresh audiences often takes over our focus, and civic engagement becomes less a driver for our strategic planning than an unintended consequence of our programmatic success. By contrast, this session examines programs that are designed to promote civic engagement as the primary organizing principle which makes the new and innovative possible.

    With more people living longer and healthier lives, traditional visions of retirement as leisure are becoming increasingly obsolete. Recent U.S. surveys confirm that a majority of baby boomers aspire to continue working after retirement, at least part-time. Freedman believes that employers would do well to develop flexible job positions and that higher education institutions can play an important role by creating continuing education programs that prepare retirees for new careers. All in all Freedman views the aging baby boomer generation as a huge, potential asset for society. In this session, he will discuss how to identify community needs and create appropriate responses that take advantage of boomers’ skills and experience.