Elsie Griffith says the day she stops learning is the day she'll die. At 84, the Lewisville resident attends the University of North Texas' new Emeritus College and takes classes on everything from Christian-Muslim relations to the history of the American West.

The retired chief executive of a home health care organization has enrolled in all 16 courses on Emeritus College's inaugural fall semester schedule.

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Elsie Griffith, 84, is taking English - and 15 other courses - this fall at UNT.

She commutes practically every weekday between her home and the Denton campus.

"It's better to burn out than to rust out," she explained. "That's been my philosophy of life, and it's worked pretty well."

Though some recession-racked workers have had to return to school to study for new careers, many retirees are heading back to the classroom simply for the joy of learning. Their ulterior motives are to keep their minds sharp and meet people with similar interests.

UNT is the latest four-year university and one of the first in this area to create a lifelong learning organization to accommodate older adults' intellectual curiosity. Nationwide, there are hundreds of such programs catering to people 50 and older who want to rekindle old interests or explore new ones.

College and university towns have been called the country's next big destinations for retirees, as seniors eager to stay engaged during their golden years move near campuses where they can sit in on classes, attend cultural activities and catch sporting events.

Experts say the lifelong learning programs, which offer a range of noncredit college-level classes with no prerequisites, will be perfectly suited to provide the mental stimulation and social networking the active retirees seek.

"The Emeritus College is a health club designed especially for the brain," said Marilyn Wagner, director of UNT's Center for Achievement and Lifelong Learning. "Researchers have found that challenging your mind is one of the best ways to slow down aging."

Some of the new college's classes have a down-to-earth purpose, such as managing a retirement nest egg. But others are more like flights of fancy for the mind. One course examines the differences between bluegrass and country-Western music.

Neil Sternberg, a 76-year-old retired dentist who signed up for 10 courses, said he's found that college is more fun the second time around.

"The first time, I was so focused on the task at hand, I only took those courses required for dentistry," the Denton County resident said. "Now, I'm able to enroll in classes just because the subjects intrigue me. It's a privilege that comes with age."

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Betty Mullenweg (second from right) is amused by Charles Martin's lecture during her English class at Emeritus College. Gene Meyer (right) is her classmate in the University of North Texas program, which debuted this fall.

He has particularly enjoyed an astronomy course, "Solar System Leftovers," which discusses asteroids, comets and meteors, and a history class, "John Wesley and Winston Churchill," which compares and contrasts the founder of Methodism and the British statesman.

The retirees who enroll in Emeritus College's noncredit courses don't have to worry about tests, papers or grades. In rare instances, a professor may assign homework, but it's the kind that students aren't likely to claim the dog ate.

For her class on the American West, instructor Elizabeth Esterchild is asking students to watch classic Western movies at home and then come prepared to discuss how Hollywood has influenced the public's perception of that bygone period.

The retired UNT sociology professor also plans to have her class act out a mysterious murder from the Old West in hopes of solving it.

"Before creating the Emeritus College, we asked older adults from the community what they expected from a lifelong learning program," Wagner said. "They told us they wanted to be entertained as well as educated. They weren't looking for dry and dull lectures."

Emeritus College's first semester has attracted 103 students, about twice the number UNT administrators had anticipated. For annual memberships of $75 to $85 for individuals and $115 to $130 for couples, students may attend as many classes as they choose.

Most instructors are retired or current UNT faculty members, though some also come from the community. Many say they've been invigorated by the give-and-take with older students who walk into their classrooms with a lifetime of experiences and no inhibitions about challenging professors' thinking.

"They're not fulfilling any requirement for a degree; they're here strictly out of curiosity," said David Higgins, a retired University of Dallas professor who's teaching an Emeritus College class on economic crises in American history. "They keep you on your toes."

At least initially, Emeritus College's students are mainly retirees in their late 60s and early 70s. But experts expect lifelong learning programs will become popular with baby boomers as they look for ways to remain mentally alert and socially engaged in retirement.

"When you retire, you leave behind a social network that can be hard to replace. Going back to school gives you a group of people with whom you share a common interest," said Kali Lightfoot, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes' National Resource Center.

The Bernard Osher Foundation has helped fund 120 lifelong learning institutes with a nationwide enrollment of 86,000 members. Wagner said UNT patterned its Emeritus College after Osher's organizations, where the members have a big say in deciding the course offerings.

At 59, Mary Finley counts herself among the youngest students at Emeritus College, but the Krum resident says other boomers will soon follow.

After retiring a year ago, she discovered that her biggest challenge would be social isolation, because she's single and lives in a small town. To keep in touch, she has enrolled in five courses this fall semester and joined a couple of special-interest clubs that students are organizing.

There are Emeritus clubs forming for book lovers, concertgoers, foodies and theater enthusiasts.

"I'm now running into old friends and meeting new ones," Finley said.

Greg Hawk, 58, and his wife, Ellen, 57, recently moved from Coppell to the Denton area because they prefer to be closer to UNT as they grow older and have more time for plays, games and other campus events.

Already retired from teaching, Ellen signed up for about a half-dozen courses at Emeritus College, including a genealogy class she hopes will help her complete two family histories she's started.

Greg still works as an environmental consultant, but his flexible hours let him attend courses with his wife. After class, the two often sit down to discuss what they've learned. Greg has even proposed teaching a class next semester on recycling.

"I just love to learn," he said. "What could be better than to sit in a classroom where you don't have to take notes or worry about assigned reading?"

Collin College's Seniors Active in Learning program

Richland College's Emeritus program

University of North Texas' Emeritus College

University of Texas at Dallas' Good Neighbors program

Faculty members give lectures at Highland Springs and Evergreen senior-living communities. Residents are also invited to attend campus activities.

SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research