Delmar retiree Barry Isenberg is versed in political affairs, international relations, Judaism, life in China and Islamic architecture. And that’s just the beginning.
Isenberg is one of thousands of people in the Capital District who have attended college-level classes taught by local college professors thanks to The Humanities Institute for Lifelong Learning, or HILL, in Delmar. The program was founded in 1993 to enhance lifelong learning opportunities for the adult community in the Capital District.
HILL was the brainchild of Fred and Helen Adler. Helen Adler was a former English teacher at Bethlehem Central High School and a huge believer in lifelong education.
This month, the institute is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Isenberg, who is also a member of the HILL coordinating committee, said what makes HILL unique from other local lifelong learning centers is that it is run by volunteers. The nonprofit group runs as an adjunct organization of the Bethlehem Central School District, which helps by distributing the HILL program brochure as an insert in the school’s continuing education newsletter.
Isenberg said because of the connection to the school district, people often think you must be a Bethlehem resident to attend. This is not so.
“Initially, it was basically Bethlehem centered, but we’ve been trying to expand our reach to other areas of the Capital District,” Isenberg said. “We have a number of people that come from Colonie, Latham, Albany and Voorheesville.”
According to Isenberg, the institute has grown tremendously since 1993.
“Our first semester in the fall of 1993 – there were only three courses at that time – we had 155 registrants,” Isenberg said. “Our last semester, we had over 550 registrations.”
Isenberg said part of this is due to the larger number of courses available now compared to in 1993, although he said the objective is not to have a large number of attendees, but to have a nice mix of courses including art, literature, studies about foreign countries, political and economic courses.
“The political courses and courses about upcoming elections are always very popular and we get a lot of people there,” he said. “One of our biggest courses was one on Shakespeare.”
Professors come from local universities and colleges, including the University at Albany, Siena College, Albany Law School, Russell Sage, Skidmore College and Union College.
Alfred D’Alauro, a New York State retiree from Altamont who has been attending HILL classes for about 10 years, said some of his favorite courses have been given by Sheldon Solomon, a psychology professor at Skidmore College.
“He has come in a number of times,” he said. “Psychology was one of my minors, so I was interested. He was a wonderful teacher.”
D’Alauro said he generally takes at least two classes each semester and has his eye on an upcoming literature arts course.
Isenberg believes people continue to return each semester both for the social aspect and out of a desire to keep intellectually active.
“Most of the people who go to our courses are very active people,” he said. “We have a broad base of people – retired teachers, librarians, attorneys – they may be retired from their profession, but intellectually they are extremely active.”
Isenberg said it was his wife who first started taking HILL courses when she retired.
“She was a teacher in the Bethlehem School District, and she told me how great they were,” he said.
It was then that Isenberg found he was hooked on learning.
“I find the courses extremely interesting and intellectually challenging,” said Isenberg, who has been attending classes regularly for eight years.
Judi Campbell of Delmar said when she first moved to the area in 2006 she found the classes to be a great way to meet new people.
“At this point I know a lot of the people who take the classes. Often after I get the schedule I will talk to people and say, ‘Are you taking this or that?’” Campbell said.
Campbell, who said she is most interested in history and current events, found she has been drawn to courses such as the Britain Empire in India taught by a professor from Skidmore, and another course about the Supreme Court.
“A lot of times, I will do two or three,” she said. “The HILL committee does a phenomenal job year after year of coming up with interesting and different programs.”
Isenberg said the classes are focused more on discussion than note taking and tests, the way most would think of a college class.
“It’s good to go to a class where you don’t have to worry about tests or notes or homework,” Isenberg laughed.
The classes are kept relatively small and are held in both the fall and spring.
Isenberg said there is often a misconception that students must be over a certain age to attend a HILL class.
“Because our courses are held in the morning and afternoon, it’s pretty much retired people, but we do get some younger people depending on the subject matter,” he said.
However, Isenberg said if you are looking for a class in “how to” do something, HILL is not what you are looking for.
“We don’t do ‘how-to’ classes,” he said. “We have had photography but more about photography as art and the history of photography as art, but not how to take digital pictures.”
Isenberg said they leave that up to the continuing education programs at the school districts.
D’Alauro said being an active lifelong learner has been an enlightening experience for him.
“I wish my college experience was as rich as the one through HILL,” he said adding that the courses he has taken have allowed him to explore topics he never had a chance to do.
“It’s one thing to pick up a book, but it’s different to have a professor in the field presenting the subject,” he said.
“You have to wait until you get old to do that,” D’Alauro laughed.
The HILL fall semester begins Sept. 23 and each class meets six times for two hours. Courses being offered this semester are The Arab Spring, The Contemporary Novel, The Beatles, Judaism and the Origins of Christianity and the Presidency and Democracy in America. Registration deadline is Sept. 13. Walk-ins are welcome if there is space, but registration is preferred. For more information, visit bcsd.k12.ny.us/HILL or call 368-7029.