Lifelong Learning Institute helps New River Valley adults keep their curiosity growing
After a record-setting spring, the Continuing and Professional Education program is preparing for fall registration and inviting course ideas from faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, and community members.
At the Virginia Tech Drone Park this spring, members of the Lifelong Learning Institute of Virginia Tech got a hands-on introduction to a technology that’s reshaping how people work, study, and solve problems.
With guidance from university students and staff, they practiced takeoffs, turns, and landings. There were questions, a few nervous laughs, and plenty of conversation.
That mix of learning and connection is central to the Lifelong Learning Institute.
The institute, part of Continuing and Professional Education in Outreach and International Affairs, offers adults 50 and older across the New River Valley and beyond a place for noncredit learning, cultural enrichment, and social connection. For many members, it’s a way to stay connected to Virginia Tech, meet new people, and keep learning alongside others who are still asking questions about the world.
That appetite shows in the numbers. This spring, the Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) welcomed 552 members and recorded more than 2,000 course registrations, the highest participation levels in its history. The record reflects the growing reach of a program that has become part classroom, part gathering place, and part point of pride for the university and the region it serves.
“LLI is one way Continuing and Professional Education helps connect Virginia Tech’s expertise with the curiosity and experience of our community,” Director Shelly Jobst said. “It brings people together around learning, and it creates opportunities for faculty, retirees, volunteers, and community members to share knowledge in ways that are meaningful and accessible.”
In that way, the Lifelong Learning Institute carries Virginia Tech’s teaching, research, and service mission beyond traditional classrooms — into courses, field trips, conversations, and relationships across the region.
The Drone Park visit was one of more than 90 courses, webinars, field trips, and special events offered this spring. Members attended lectures and webinars, gathered for socials, participated in an art exhibition featuring work created in Lifelong Learning Institute classes, and took courses across literature, history, art, science, technology, wellness, and current events.
The catalog included The Rise of American Plutocracy taught by Jim Bohland, professor emeritus in urban affairs and planning; “Moby-Dick": An Appreciation taught by Jeff Saperstein, a poet and former English professor at Radford University; and The Art, Science, and Mystery of Leonardo da Vinci taught by Michelle Moseley, associate professor of art history in the School of Visual Arts.
Members also visited Virginia Tech research sites, toured the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech and the New River Valley Regional Water Authority, explored Natural Bridge, and joined a New River raft trip. Some courses met in community spaces such as Warm Hearth Village, closer to where members live and gather.
Near the end of the semester, the Lifelong Learning Institute paused to celebrate the people who make those experiences possible. At a volunteer appreciation reception, the institute recognized its volunteer instructors, class assistants, and the Continuing and Professional Education staff who support programming year-round.
Longtime instructors Britton Gildersleeve and Bill Ochsenwald, professor emeritus of history in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, received the Niles Award for sustained excellence in teaching and service.
Presenting the awards, Lifelong Learning Institute co-founder Jerry Niles shared comments from learners praising Gildersleeve’s literature and discussion-based courses and Ochsenwald’s teaching on Middle Eastern history. Then he turned to the quieter work behind every successful class.
“Good teachers make teaching look easy, but it doesn’t come easily,” said Niles, professor and dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. “The worry, the work, the thought that goes into it — every one of you have given that gift to LLI.”
Hokies women’s basketball coach Megan Duffy spoke next, reflecting on early generations of Virginia Tech players who competed with limited resources but found something lasting in the relationships around them. She connected that to the work of the Lifelong Learning Institute’s volunteers and instructors.
“Hearing about this program, hearing about the volunteers and the enthusiasm to serve the person to your left and to your right — that’s what makes this community special,” Duffy said.
That spirit continues to shape the Lifelong Learning Institute this fall. Registration for the fall 2026 term opens Aug. 19, and prospective members can learn more and explore upcoming offerings on the Lifelong Learning Institute website.
Course ideas are also being accepted now from faculty members, staff, retirees, alumni, and other members of the university community. The process doesn’t require a finished syllabus — just a topic, an interest, a research area, or a professional experience worth sharing with engaged learners.
“Some of our instructors have taught for decades, and some are sharing a passion for the first time — LLI has room for both,” Jobst said. “As we look toward fall, we hope more faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, and community members will bring us their ideas. That’s how LLI keeps growing, both as a resource for the community and as a connection to Virginia Tech.”
