The Gerontology Institute at Ithaca College and Longview Senior Living Community have been participating in an ongoing partnership since 1999. A part of this almost 25-year partnership includes a speaker series that involves the college’s community volunteering their time to give presentations — ranging anywhere from traditional lectures to musical performances — to Longview residents.
The college’s Longview Partnership Coordinator Angela Darling said there is more to be expected from the series than before and even though many sessions have been lined up, the speaker series is still actively looking for volunteers. Darling said the sessions are becoming more popular and there are four sessions scheduled at the present, which is more than usual.
“At this time, we have volunteers presenting Family History Projects, Lectures on Belly Dancing, Poetry Reading, Speeches on Creative Writing, a Performance of Irish Music and Talks on Past Events,” Darling said via email. “Our presenters vary, whether they may be retired or current professors/instructors at IC or IC alumni.”
Bree Nash, recreation and community partnerships director for Longview, said the speaker series usually features one or two talks per month. Nash said no matter the topic, there is always an eager audience at Longview ready to learn.
“I think that’s why a lot of residents choose Longview, because of the partnership with Ithaca College,” Nash said. “When there’s the opportunity for conversation and learning, it just draws people in.”
The speaker series gives Longview residents many opportunities to learn at a low commitment, according to Nash. In addition to the speaker series, the college’s partnership with Longview also allows its residents to audit classes for free. These audits allow the residents to attend classes without getting any academic credit and there is no expectation to do the work assigned outside of class.
Nash said that when compared to the audited classes, the speaker series allows residents to show up on their own time and in their own space. In audited classes, Nash said some residents struggle with its demands. Moreover, traveling back and forth several times a week can be difficult for some of the residents, even with Longview’s shuttle service that offers transportation to and from the college.
“[There’s] a lot to do, right?” Nash said. “It’s a lot to get ready in the morning, to go over to IC. … [In the speaker series] the professors and the faculty are coming to us. [The residents] just have to walk upstairs and it’s a lot lower key.”
Nash said that when the series are lower maintenance there tends to be a greater turnout. However, Virginia Bizzell, who is 93 years old and has been a Longview resident for six years, said the audience could be even greater if the lectures were shared in a video format.
“I don’t like to go out for night programs because it’s hard enough for me to see during the day,” Bizzell said. “I would like to see the college televise those programs, or at least videotape them, so they can be available to people here or anybody else in the community.”
While the sessions are not currently being filmed, Darling said she could see filming these sessions in the future as a possibility.
Kathleen Mulligan, professor in the Department of Music, Theater, and Dance, and Elizabeth Bergman, associate professor in the Department of Health Science and Public Health, have been participants in the speaker series since 2015 and 2008, respectively.
Mulligan said she wanted to find an outlet to teach different types of audiences and the speaker series allowed her to do so by reaching a broader range of people.
“I have always enjoyed opportunities to offer education … to people that might be non-traditional students,” Mulligan said. “Here’s a perfect opportunity for me to offer something to them.”
Mulligan said that by participating in the program, she gets perks like getting a chance to practice her talks. If she is nervous about presenting in a more professional setting, she said Longview grants her a low-stress trial run.
Mulligan has given lectures on her travels to both India and Pakistan during her sabbatical as a Fulbright scholar and also shared her one-woman play on Emily Dickinson at Longview. Bergman, on the other hand, discusses different topics within Gerontology.
Most recently, Bergman discussed how the beliefs about aging can impact the aging experience, like how long individuals live. Bergman said in the future, she plans to share her thoughts on bridging the digital divide with older adults.
“If you don’t know how to do social media or email or connect with people online or do a Zoom meeting, [it can lead] to extreme social isolation for some older adults,” Bergman said.
While Mulligan and Bergman are two professors who have participated in the speaker series, it is not limited to just faculty and is open to all college faculty and students. Nash said multiple student groups from the college participated in the series in the past.
“The women’s basketball team has come,” Nash said. “Instead of a presentation, it was more of a meet and greet social. … [They discussed] how playing a sport in college is affecting them.”
Nash said while Longview residents have the opportunity to learn about many different subjects, they are ultimately just curious and eager to learn whatever topic is presented to them.
Bizzell said that she had no favorites and was ambitious to gain knowledge on topics she otherwise would not have known about.
“Any kind of educational lecture appeals to me,” Bizzell said. “I go to all of them. I really do.”
Bergman said she recommended participating in the speaker series because of the residents’ genuine desire to learn and how engaged and receptive the audience is. She said she is glad that she could participate in the Longview speaker series through the college and feels Longview offers her a way to branch out of the college’s campus by providing her with an outlet to get her work out into the community.
“It’s a wonderful way to serve the broader community by bringing the work we do on campus out into the community,” Bergman said.
