Lifelong learning is the name of the game for Edenwald Senior Living in Towson.
That’s why Edenwald is partnering with its neighbor, Goucher College, to form the first university retirement community in Maryland.
Through this partnership, Edenwald residents get to be college students alongside 19- to 22-year-olds. Edenwald residents can choose to study abroad, audit Goucher College classes, access the community garden, and attend sports games and performing arts events right in their backyard.
Edenwald plans to add 127 new apartments in three new towers on three acres of land leased from Goucher College. The estimated groundbreaking for this project is in late 2026, according to Goucher’s website, and the college is offering three audited classes for Edenwald residents beginning in February 2025.
The staff at Edenwald believe that learning is a lifelong endeavor that doesn’t stop after one graduates from college, says Lisha Galloway, the vice president of resident services and institutions of higher education at Edenwald.
“As the old antics go, ‘You don’t stop learning because you grow old; you grow old because you stop learning,’” says Galloway. “We have such a rich community of residents that are very knowledgeable and have a passion to learn that we want to make sure we are continuing that and giving them the opportunity to continue to grow and learn and be a part of the community.”
The available courses are Critical Race Theory and International Contact; Food, Nutrition and Culture; and The World’s a Stage, according to Galloway. These courses span seven weeks, shorter than the traditional 15-week college semester, says Kent Devereaux, the president of Goucher College.
“This was an opportunity for us to look forward — 20 to 30 years in the future — to expand into lifelong learning,” says Devereaux.
Devereaux is part of a working group between Edenwald and Goucher College. The group surveyed Edenwald residents to find out their interest areas, then determined which faculty members wanted to offer what classes.
He says that part of the course selection is a topic’s relevance to today’s ever-changing world. For instance, a senior citizen may hear the phrase “critical race theory” and wonder what it actually means.
“First and foremost, there has been a lot of confusion around [CRT] and a lot of disinformation,” Devereaux says. “I’m sure that many, many people in society go, ‘I hear these terms bandied about; what do they actually mean?’ That’s the whole purpose of a higher education institution, to answer questions and provide educational insight.”
He adds that the course offers “just enough” information to introduce students to CRT so they know what it is and what it isn’t.
“Because of where we are as a nation, things are so polarized nowadays,” Galloway says. “This [course] is a great conversation as to how things have changed, [examining] what does that mean? What does that look like? How do I better understand?”
Other aspects of the world have vastly changed as well, such as the increase in alternative diets. Devereaux says it may be confusing for an older person to walk into the dining hall and see many varieties of nondairy milk: almond, soy and oat. That’s where the nutrition course comes into play.
The audited courses, designed with the senior population in mind, will run the gamut from the arts, sciences and technology to history. Courses will be mixed classes with Edenwald residents and Goucher students.
Devereaux says the Edenwald residents not only benefit from attending courses at Goucher, they can teach something to the younger generation.
“Many of the Edenwald residents are basically living history; they can really provide a perspective that our 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds would never have,” Devereaux says. “So we’re really excited about the whole range of opportunities we have from a teaching perspective.”
Galloway says the benefits go both ways: “I think the community will thrive from this interaction. Being able to engage with a younger population as a senior, they will engage in holistic learning.”
She adds that college students have their own unique experiences to share, speaking to the benefits of intergenerational connections. Devereaux adds that many studies have been done that show a positive relationship between interaction with young people and seniors’ physical health.
Part of the push to expand into a university retirement community comes from a demand for higher education for older adults. This age group is one of the fastest-growing demographics because more Americans are living longer and retiring later, Devereaux says.
“If we’re going to see people live longer, they want to stay active,” he says. “One of the ways that people stay healthier longer and live healthier, longer lives is by keeping their mind[s] active.”
“[Our senior population] is going to want to do more things and they’re going to want to be knowledgeable,” Galloway says. “They’re going to want to learn new skills. They’re going to want to continue to grow and learn, so we want to be at the forefront of being able to provide that.”
