Circle of Scholars program at Salve Regina celebrates 30 years

In the words of one life-long learner: “It’s what keeps me going”

The group includes a former director of science information at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; an expert witness in political asylum cases for African and Middle Eastern refugees; a retired New York Supreme Court justice; and a former ambassador to Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

In addition, the founding director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Braun Center for Holocaust Studies; an actor who performed with Saratoga Shakespeare in New York; adjunct professors and foreign officers from the U.S. Naval War College; a retired FBI agent; and lovers of literature, music, and movies also are involved.

All are among the distinguished lecturers who offer seminars in Salve Regina University’s Circle of Scholars program. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the program is open to anyone age 50 or older. It offered 124 seminars during the 2023 fall and 2024 spring semesters to a membership of 900 “lifelong learners.” More than 500 are waiting to join.“

People on the waitlist may not be invited to join for one to two years,” explained Sheila Powell, program director. In the interim, Circle of Scholars is launching a pilot program offering classes exclusively to those waiting for membership. Six different classes will be offered on Tuesday evenings throughout the fall 2024 semester. “We hope this pilot program will allow those waiting an opportunity to participate,” Powell said.

ALDONA DOWSKI of Portsmouth joined Circle of Scholars in 1998, shortly after closing a 29-year career as a high school biology teacher. A widow with grown children, free of outside work or homemaking obligations, she says she enjoys spending her time taking seminars and meeting other people making the most of their retirement years.

“It is the highlight of my life, I adore, adore, adore it,” Dowski says. “There is something for everyone, from religion to poetry to history. I take a little bit of everything. It’s what keeps me going.”

Born in Lithuania 85 years ago, she spoke no English when her family obtained sponsorship in the United States and arrived in New York aboard an American troop ship in 1950. She went to school and developed a passion for learning.

It’s a passion shared by Circle of Scholar members and instructors.

ANNE CUVELIER operated the Sanford Covell House, her historic waterfront home on Washington Street in Newport, as the Villa Marina bed-and-breakfast for years. She hosted hundreds of guests, but eventually sold the property and moved into a single-level condo at the Bonniecrest estate overlooking Brenton Cove.

At 90 she continues her years-long research of UFOs and takes classes in science, politics, international relations and other subjects at Circle of Scholars.

“It’s a great way to meet nice people of similar interests,” says Cuvelier. “We’re really fortunate. It’s just such a great opportunity that we have here.”

DENNIS SHEEHAN, a professor emeritus of finance at Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business, grew up with five siblings on Coggeshall Avenue, not far from the Salve campus. He earned a doctorate in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and planned to join Circle of Scholars as a student when he retired and returned to Newport in 2017.

Powell suggested he teach a seminar while waiting for an opening. Sheehan — years younger than most of his students— made his debut with a program titled “Making Better Decisions.” He has taught seminars relating to economics, statistics and business every semester since.

Senior students bring their wisdom and life experience into the classroom with them, says Sheehan, adding a depth to discussions that is missing among younger students. He finds leading a class of lifelong learners challenging and the preparation intense. But the reward is unburdened by administrative duties like critiquing papers or preparing and grading exams — instructors can focus solely on sharing information and encouraging critical thinking, he notes.

“It’s amazing and wonderful to be part of this community where everyone is interested in learning,” says Sheehan. “I used to teach required courses. Everyone who signs up [with Circle of Scholars] is here voluntarily.”

“It’s purely liberal arts education,” says Powell.

JOHN BROUGHAN joined the group 12 years ago after a long and successful career in the international travel industry. It began with Pan American World Airways and ended with the sale of a software company he created to service cruise lines around the world.

He and his wife, Winnie, also a member of Circle of Scholars, retired to a home in Newport’s Point neighborhood and immersed themselves in the community.

“I find Circle of Scholars to be a great way to keep the old man out,” Broughan jokes. He’s attended many seminars over the years and maintains the writing class led by the late Jack Galvin was the best. It forced him out of his comfort zone and led to the achievement of a lifelong goal.

“I finally did what I’ve always wanted to do and wrote my memoir,” he says with pride. “I was scared to death.” Broughan and fellow students formed a writer’s group that included their instructor. The men published a collection of essays they titled “500 Years of Living,” a nod to the sum of their combined ages. Six of Galvin’s female students followed with a collection of their works titled “How We Got Here.”

HOWIE BONNER, 81, of Swansea, Mass., earned a master’s degree in management at Salve Regina during his nearly 40-yearcareer with Texas Instruments. Now he returns each semester to attend a new slate of seminars. While his selections veer toward economics, political science, and history, he says he keeps an open mind while studying the course catalog and setting his schedule.

“It’s kind of like going into a bakery,” explains Bonner. “There’s so many choices … and everything looks good. So, I just fill up the plate.”

DENNIS BRADY graduated from Providence College in 1977 with a degree in political science. In 2017 he retired after a 38-year career with the IRS in Boston.

It wasn’t an easy transition. On the advice of a counselor and the suggestion of a friend, he joined Circle of Scholars. Blind since birth, he registers for a minimum of three or four seminars a semester.“

Anybody who wants to keep active and learn a lot of stuff should join,” advises Brady, who counts classes on history, opera, law, public policy, censorship and book banning on his resume.

“I always say, ‘I don’t want the credits, I don’t need another credential, but I do want the knowledge.’”

THE LATE SISTER ESTHER WHALEN AND THOMAS FLANAGAN, associate professor of business and economics, started Salve Regina University’s Circle of Scholars program in 1994 to build community engagement. “They wanted to bring people in the local area to Salve, to get to know Salve, or to get to know it better,” says Powell, who has served as program director for eight years.

Drawing from their community contacts, they invited several area residents to form a board to launch the lifelong learning program. One of the original members was the late Frank Martin, whose son, David Martin, is a current member, Powell said.

The founding members served as both students and volunteer instructors, sharing their knowledge and expertise with one another. The program has made significant improvements to its structure, operations and management during the 30 years since.

Chief among them, Powell says, is the establishment of designated classroom space in Salve’s Young Building, where seminars are held in the mansion’s boardroom, with a capacity of 40, and its ballroom, which can accommodate twice that number. Friday seminars are held in the DiStefano Lecture Hall, which is in the Antone Academic Center and has a capacity of 130.

A NINE-MEMBER LEADERSHIP COUNCIL provides guidance and instructor recommendations to Powell, along with general oversight of program planning. Currently headed by Sheehan, it meets five times a year and each member serves a three-year term. The goal is to fulfill program requests from members and to offer seminars relevant to current local, national and world events.

“We have a high-caliber group of regular instructors,” Powell explained, “and we bring in some new instructors each term. We keep the curriculum fresh. Ninety percent are new offerings each term.”

The slate of seminars scheduled to be presented this fall includes an examination of issues related to the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 5. Sheehan and Luigi Bradizza, chairman of Salve’s department of political science and international relations, are co-teaching a two-part seminar titled “Election 2024.” Sheehan will cover national debt, inflation, trade and economic regulations in one session, and Bradizza will discuss war, immigration, sexual politics and the U.S. Supreme Court in the other.

“We want to make sure that the information is presented in a balanced way and that members get both sides of an issue,” says Powell. “I hope that it’s a safe place for members to ask questions and express opinions. That [they’re] gaining something by being exposed to other people’s perspectives and values.”

The fall semester also offers options for members fed up with the political rhetoric and barrage of campaign ads.

MARY MURPHY has a doctorate in English and American literature from New York University and taught at Connecticut’s Fairfield University for 25 years. Her expertise is in the 19th century novel, and she has a special interest in Newport writers Edith Wharton and Henry James. In honor of the Halloween season, Murphy is offering a seminar spotlighting Wharton’s ghost stories.

“People are just so eager to read, to learn,” says Murphy. “The level of enthusiasm is high, the attention intense. Their life experiences enrich everything, and their education experiences are robust.”

LYNDA TISDELL of Wakefield taught English at North Kingstown High School for 32 years and combines her love of teaching and movies to produce popular film seminars. She selects four movies with a common theme, screens one at each class, and ends the session with a discussion of directorial decisions and filming techniques.

“My job is to introduce a movie that they may or may not have seen, and to make them aware of the structure,” Tisdell says. Her goal is to guide students beyond the plot and to make them aware of how music, lighting, costuming and other elements advance the story and shape viewers’ impressions of the characters.

WHILE STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS may disagree on political and philosophical matters, they are unanimous in their praise of Powell.

“The person who makes all of this happen is Sheila,” says Dowski. “She’s the backbone of the program. Without Sheila, I think everything would fall apart.”

Others note her ability to generate ideas and produce new seminars, then locate and recruit the perfect instructors to present them. She frequently provides technical support to the teaching staff, always makes sure students with mobility or other problems get in and out of the building safely, often provides transportation for a student or instructor in need, and daily inspects the restroom located outside the Young Building boardroom to make sure it is tidy and stocked with the necessary paper supplies.

Powell shakes off the accolades and says the program’s success is a team effort. “I feel like we’re running like a well-oiled machine, but we’re always trying to improve,” she says.