In his convocation speech for HILR, Shinagel suggested that part of the "last frontier" of continuing education programs should be retirement communities built as parts of learning in retirement programs.

"This is very much a trend among retired people," says Shinagel, citing programs in Pennsylvania and Florida which have started learning in retirement communities. "It's a very natural thing."

Shinagel says members of HILR are looking into the possibilities of building a retirement community in Brookline, where real estate is less expensive and available in large blocks. A busing system would transport students from Brookline to Harvard for the HILR classes each day.

Living in such a community would not be the choice of everyone, however, and would not be a requirement for attending HILR classes.

"I'm not the least bit interested in living with a bunch of old people," says Edward Shanley, who teaches the Origins of Science. "The people who are married will typically be owning their own homes in easy commuting distance. You'll never get them to join a retirement community--not while they are married. They won't give up their homes--their mortgages are paid."

Shanley and other members of the group concede however that for their peers who' are not married--about 50 percent of the group--living in a retirement community connected with HILR so that they could continue taking classes would be important.

"I have sort of avoided communities," says Tyndall. "But individual commuting makes it difficult to take advantage of things in the evenings like Extension School classes and concerts. Maybe a retirement community would make that easier if a lot of people could come into the Square together."

Although the idea of establishing retirement housing has been discussed, Shingel says it is in preliminary stages. "From the point of saying "This is a good idea, let's do it,' which we have not yet done, to actually moving in is a minimum of five years," he says. "It's a very major undertaking. You have got to have at least 20 acres of land and 200 units to make it economically feasible."

While the idea of retirement housing is being researched, branch programs are being created within HILR to increase the sense of community among students in the program.

This fall, HILR is starting a buddy system, to ensure that program members who live alone are safe. Program members can volunteer to be a buddy and call a peer every day to be certain that he is not ill or lonely.

In addition, about eight members of the institute last spring volunteered to take classes in Health Resources with the American Association of Retired People (AARP), so they could advise other members on how to find good medical care.

However, Ishikawa stresses the fact that the central focus of the program is still the classroom time.

"When people hear the words learning in retirement, most tend to focus on the retirement aspect," says Ishikawa. "As there is a greater need for retirement programs, obviously there will be reason to consider people's retirement needs. But we really are concentrating on being a facility for learning."