News
Spotlight on Innovation: Senior Scholars
- By: USAging
- On: 11/17/2017 23:45:17
- In: Hot Topics in Aging
We're highlighting cutting-edge programs and successful strategies of our 2017 Aging Innovation Award Winners with this spotlight feature. This week we shine a spotlight on Clinton County Office for the Aging, winner in the Healthy Aging category.
In 2014, Clinton County Office for the Aging partnered with the Chapel Hill Foundation and the Senior Citizen Council of Clinton County to launch the Senior Scholars program. The initiative offers socialization and enrichment opportunities for older adults remaining in northern New York during the winter.
Professors from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh offer six-week courses such as “The Witch Craze in Early Modern Europe,” “Perspectives on the Renaissance,” “Religion on the Big Screen — Faith, Satire and Seminal Cinema” and more. Class sizes are small and involve three different options for morning coursework, lively lunch discussions and afternoon sessions where all participants in the morning classes come together.
Senior Scholars began with 12 participants in 2014 and grew to 60 in 2017. The agency hopes to bring in 80 participants for the 2018 program that will begin in late January. The program's popularity has already prompted professors to start signing up for the 2019 series. The AIA award recognition has also attracted interest from other foundations to build new partnerships in the community.
To learn more about this year's winners, read our press release and check out our book of winners!