When St. Thomas transitioned to virtual and hybrid classes due to the pandemic, the situation revealed both the benefit of online education and the value of in-person learning.
For those 40 and older furthering their education through St. Thomas’ Selim Center, which enrolls around 2,000 to 3,000 students a year, the shift made some learning opportunities accessible for a broader population.
“We had students in their 90s who couldn’t get around anymore who wouldn’t have been able to be there if they had come in person,” said Bob Shoemake, Selim Center director. “Now all they had to do was push a button on their computer to participate.”
Other opportunities are less accessible online, however. Part of the Selim Center’s mission is to provide participants with “social interaction with one another and with traditional college-age students;” this is largely encouraged by the physical presence of the center and students on campus.
Reflecting that mission, the Selim Center reopened this fall in the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center and offered many in-person opportunities, and while online options will continue, the return is a reminder that the presence of lifelong learners is rewarding for all members of the St. Thomas community.
“Part of the common good is having a civil society and part of having a civil society that works is having a well educated populace,” Shoemake said.
The Selim Center was founded in 1973 by Mohamed Selim, an economics professor and the first Muslim hired at St. Thomas, on the belief that everyone should have access to education regardless of age.
Community members over 40 can audit undergraduate classes and attend over 200 hours of liberal arts lectures on subjects like biology, psychology, theology, history and political science through the Selim Center.
It’s easy to recruit faculty members as instructors for the classes and lectures, Shoemake said, because these programs offer a unique and enriching experience for both students and educators.
“It is almost the easiest yes that you can get because they love that they get to talk about what they have studied and have a passion for without the job of grading assignments,” Shoemake said.
The Selim Center has been able to host a number of in-person classes and lectures this semester covering a range of subjects, from a class covering over 3,000 years of Irish literature to a session examining the history of American politics.
The session “The 17th Century Origins of Contemporary American Politics,” led by world history professor William Cavert, is one example of how, regardless of age, education can offer an enhanced understanding of the world.
“This class is looking at the way that the thought world of England in the 18th Century was a kind of antecedent for what’s happening in America right now,” Shoemake said.
Fr. Michael Joncas, who has been working with the Selim Center for about 30 years, said that the presence of diverse backgrounds and perspectives in the classroom is a positive experience for everyone.
“It’s a wonderful thing for the undergraduates,” Joncas said. “They get to see them and that education is not just a four year commitment, it’s a lifetime commitment.”
Joncas loves the opportunity to teach lifelong learners, and believes the Selim Center participants offer a unique perspective for everyone in the classroom.
“Since I’m now the age of most of the people that I’m teaching there, we have common cultural stances and common cultural experiences that I can rely on,” Joncas said.
“Life experience is different; there’s really no substitute for living through things.”
For more information about the Selim Center’s programs, visit their website.
Lucy Peterson can be reached at lucy.peterson@stthomas.edu.
Camarae Good can be reached at good4796@stthomas.edu.
Lauren Price can be reached at lauren.price@stthomas.edu.