Editorial: Aiding baby boomers in search for meaning

The nation's supernumerary baby-boomers have reached what's being gently called "the second half of life," but the big generation is still doing what it has done since its diaper days: It's demanding notice and altering the contours of every phase of life it touches.

The numbers explain why. Minnesota's 5 million people include 1.4 million born between 1946 and 1964. No other age cohort comes close in size.

That's why smart Minnesotans of all ages are thinking about the implications of the next boomer phases: Empty nesting. Reducing work time. For some, retiring from paid employment. And for many, satisfying an urge to learn more and do more in service to community.

Enter the demographically savvy folks at the College of Continuing Education at the University of Minnesota. They're embarking on a venture that aims to rebrand the state's flagship higher education institution as a learning place not only for the young, but for every intellectually curious adult, at any age.

It's called LearningLife, and it's getting deserved high-profile treatment at the university. President Robert Bruininks' wife, Susan Hagstrum, gave it an Eastcliff launch last week. A bigger kickoff, an all-day "fest" billed as "better than Woodstock and a wee bit smaller," is set for Dec. 1 at the Continuing Education and Conference Center on the St. Paul campus. (See www.learninglife.umn.edu for more information.)

LearningLife (a play on phrases such as "work life") ought to attract a lot of interest -- and imitation -- by other organizations eager to serve and be served by boomers in transition.

Significantly, LearningLife isn't a set course of study or regimen of activity. Its designers know boomers too well to be that prescriptive. It might better be described as a boomer-specific portal to the university, being "co-created" by its participants. Dean Mary Nichols of the College of Continuing Education envisions LearningLife as a combination counselor, connection-maker and community-builder for older learners, regardless of what they want to learn.

Fun will be part of LearningLife's appeal. But the venture has a serious aim. It wants to equip boomers to stay engaged and make productive contributions to society for as long as possible. As Richard Leider, a senior fellow at the university's Center for Spirituality and Healing, said at Eastcliff, a sense of meaning and purpose is as important to the well-being of older adults as are money and medicine. The pursuit of knowledge enhances that sense.

Other enterprises that want to tap the human capital that retiring boomers represent -- and help keep them in Minnesota -- should be rooting for LearningLife to make a big splash. And they should be thinking of ways to follow its lead.