Rice University’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies is expanding access to higher education through Lifelong University, a custom-designed program that brings engaging and stimulating learning opportunities directly to retirement community residents.
Developed by the Glasscock School’s Center for Community Learning and Engagement in collaboration with Belmont Village Senior Living, the initiative delivers Rice’s top-notch instructional expertise to older adults online, supporting late-in-life learners. Lifelong University blends virtual instruction, relevant activities and live conversations with Rice scholars, facilitated by retirement community staff in a group setting.
“Rice Continuing Studies is fundamentally about building stronger communities through learning, and Lifelong University is one of the clearest expressions of how we do that,” said Robert Bruce, dean of the Glasscock School. “By pairing Rice faculty and other experts with residents and staff in retirement communities across the country, we’re co-creating spaces where curiosity, connection and joy in learning can flourish at every age.”
For Korin Brody, interim director of the Center for Community Learning and Engagement, the program reflects Rice’s belief that learning truly lasts a lifetime.
“At Rice University and the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, we believe that learning is a way of life, no matter what age,” Brody said. “Learning is fundamental to our lives, and the capacity to learn never ends.”
The initiative began as a pandemic-era pilot program responding to the need for safe, convenient, high-quality educational programming for older adults. After collaborating with retirement communities to test and refine the model, Lifelong University has grown into a nationally scalable program now expanding across 33 Belmont Village Senior Living communities.
Brody said the rapidly growing older-adult population makes programs like this increasingly essential.
“This really promotes access to a population not typical of what’s considered a traditional Rice student — a population that still has a huge capacity to learn,” she said.
Courses are designed with resident input and delivered primarily by on-site programming staff trained by Rice. Participants are able to explore topics from Mayan civilization and bird migration to medieval art history and lunar science — often discovering new passions along the way.
“Lifelong University brings together the best of higher education and community learning for older adults,” Brody said. “Residents aren’t just learning passively — they’re learning with others, reminiscing and exploring subjects they may not normally have thought they’d be interested in. It creates a true community of learners.”
For Patricia G. Will, founder and CEO of Belmont Village, the partnership reflects her belief that later life is “a gift, not a problem — an opportunity.”
“What began with almost a blank sheet of paper and a lot of wonderful ideas turned into a beautiful program that stimulates the people who live with us,” Will said. “To walk into one of our buildings and see seniors actively engaged with a Rice instructor on art deco design in Houston or how coral reefs grow … I kind of pinch myself because I can’t believe that this has really come true.
“I see this as a tremendous growth opportunity, both for the coursework itself and for our participants who are now loving it.”
Residents describe the impact in personal terms. Linda Cubbinson, a new Belmont resident, said the experience has transformed her relationship to learning.
“I’ve realized that learning is very important, and I like doing it now. I never did before,” she said. “So that’s what Rice is helping me with. It’s wonderful to broaden your horizons.” Cubbinson said her favorite topics so far include early evolutionary biology and art deco history.
Brian Houlihan, who worked in the oil and gas industry before retirement, said the program keeps him mentally engaged.
“It gives us the opportunity to continue learning things outside my discipline,” Houlihan said. He enjoyed sessions on Mayan culture and coral reefs, noting it was “pretty neat to have a guy who’s actually studied the coral reefs, looked at it and brought back film to show us here.”
“I like to keep ahead of the game a little bit, so it makes me think,” Houlihan said. “It makes me contrast cultures, see how far we’ve come and how the world has evolved. I get that from lifelong learning.”
For Brody, those reflections capture the meaning behind the initiative.
“Connection is a real through line for thriving communities,” she said. “At its core, connection brings purpose and meaning to our lives, and lifelong learning helps make that possible.”
As national expansion continues, the Glasscock School aims to grow both its course offerings and the populations it serves, including older adults in Houston who may not live in retirement communities.
“We’re really hoping to expand locally and regionally — to offer the program to community organizations that might not have access to high-quality educational programming like this,” Brody said.
To learn more about Lifelong University, visit continue.rice.edu/lifelong-university.