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WISE Bulletin: June 2017
Special 25th Anniversary Edition
Created by the WISE Communications Committee
Editors: Elaine Bloom and Sandra Hakkarainen
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What Is WISE?
By Elaine Bloom
WISE is a member-directed organization created in 1993 to provide learning opportunities for older adults. What does the name WISE stand for? We are the Worcester Institute for Senior Education.
Worcester: From the beginning we have been affiliated with Assumption College in Worcester. But we also regularly offer courses at the Worcester Art Museum, Tower Hill, the Audubon Center, and other locations. Our course instructors are often retired professors from several of the local colleges. And while the majority of our members do reside in the city, WISE members come from more than 25 different towns in central Massachusetts.
Institute: WISE is a lifelong learning institute, designed to help older citizens remain alert and aware of the wonderful world of learning. Besides four sessions of courses each year, we offer daytrips, lunch presentations, and an annual dinner lecture. We are one of the oldest such organizations in southern New England, and a long-standing partner with the National Road Scholar Network of lifelong learning institutes.
Senior: The majority of our members are in the 65-75 age group. About two thirds of WISE members possess either a graduate or professional degree. We are retired teachers, doctors, lawyers, and business people who are not ready to just sit and wait for the grandchildren to come visit. We are looking for new venues to discover, appreciate, and discuss with others our own age.
Education: Our vision is to be a learning community that offers older adults intellectual stimulation, socialization, personal growth, and opportunities for service. WISE does not offer programs leading to academic degrees, so no tests or grades. There is so much more to learning and living.
For further information, call the WISE office at 508-767-7513 or visit us online at www.assumption.edu/wise.
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Why Are We Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary?
By Marsha Addis
I have the distinct pleasure, and awesome responsibility, of chairing the WISE 25th Anniversary Task Force. This group is responsible for planning and carrying out the five major events listed in the Save the Dates section of this Bulletin. Fortunately my co-chair, Bob Dyer, and the group of men and women who comprise the Task Force are enthusiastic about what they volunteered to do for WISE.
 At our first meeting, the Task Force had a discussion about why we should celebrate the 25 years that WISE has been in existence. Here is the essence of that discussion.
To Celebrate Ourselves, Our Growth, and Our Sustainability: First and foremost, this anniversary gives us the opportunity to celebrate ourselves, our growth, and our sustainability. We celebrate our founders who were “wise" enough to realize 25 years ago that those of us who are aging still have energy and curiosity, and we need a forum to both give of ourselves and take from the wisdom of others. We celebrate the fact that, through members’ efforts over 25 years, WISE has grown, both in membership and in quality of courses and other WISE activities. We also celebrate that, despite financial and other challenges, WISE survived and is bigger and stronger as a result. Let us not forget to celebrate ourselves — the volunteers who make everything happen (with the help, of course, of our committed and creative Director and Office Manager).
To Celebrate Our Assumption Relationship: Just as important is the opportunity to celebrate our relationship with Assumption College, the one and only higher education institution in Worcester that had the foresight to give WISE a home at the time of its founding. Our academic marriage has been a win-win for us all. While we enjoy the space on campus and the benefit of accounting, audiovisual, maintenance, public relations, development (fundraising) and other services on campus, WISE’s presence reminds the undergraduates that learning never has to stop. WISE’s donation of a scholarship to Assumption’s Continuing Education program every year makes a significant difference to the lives of older adult students who are working toward their degrees.
To Publicize WISE's Existence: I would be remiss if I did not mention that our 25th anniversary gives us the opportunity of a year’s worth of publicity in the greater Worcester area. The first strategy in WISE’s strategic plan is to “Increase Membership to 400.” We cannot rely solely on person-to-person contacts, as we have in the past, to reach that number. So, this special year is a perfect opportunity to introduce WISE to our peers in our area who do not know about WISE.
I hope you are as proud of your association with WISE as I am and that you will help us celebrate throughout the year by attending some or, better yet, all of the events we have planned. And if you have a hankering to pitch in and help, just let me know (addisconsulting@hotmail.com).
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Memory Lane
Photos from our WISE 20th Anniversary
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Save the Dates
Special Events for our 25th Anniversary
We will provide more detail about these events closer to the dates.
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Anniversary Brunch at Wachusett Country Club
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Lecture by Steve Kurkjian, Pulitzer Prize journalist for the Boston Globe, and author of Master Thieves, about the 1990 art heist of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
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Lecture by Maria Sirois, Psy.D., positive psychologist, International speaker and Ted lecturer, author of A Short Course in Happiness and Every Day Counts
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25th Anniversary Celebration on Assumption Campus
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