Carol Woods's residents are in the perfect place to learn about their passions and to teach others about new interests or subjects they have studied for most of their lives. Situated between Duke and UNC, the area offers diverse learning opportunities for all ages.

What used to be known as DILR (Duke Institute for Learning in Retirement) and is now known as OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) is an organization that extends its arm to a wide demographic of older adults in the area the opportunity to "learn for the love of it." Its membership and course offerings have grown steadily since it began in 1977.

Twelve Carol Woods residents serve as teachers for various OLLI classes and bring their individual skills and expertise to the table. From Driver's Education to Middle Eastern Relations, Physics to Computer Coaching, residents have offered an intellectual mixed bag of resources for OLLI to pull from since 1997.

OLLI teachers who are also Carol Woods residents include Betsy Hewitt, Art Hawley, Kurt Jones, Edward Gross, Eugen Merzbacher, Jessie Lutz, Gwen Griswold, Pat Bogart, Dan Pollitt, Mary Ann Gross, Bob Metzger and Wally Friedman.

The high volume of retired professors, teachers, librarians and avid readers at Carol Woods has made OLLI an obvious match.

"Carol Woods is a very natural partner for OLLI," said Catherine Frank, director of OLLI at Duke University. "It is the involvement of the residents; Carol Woods is unique among other communities because of the strong lead that residents take in creating programs, and it is the same approach OLLI takes."

In exchange for a $30 annual membership fee, lifelong learners can attend classes and subjects according to their tastes without the pressure of grades, tests, or required attendance. Carol Woods' residents are offered the class at no cost.

OLLI's motto, "Learning for the Love of it" captures older adults' passion for education as the motivating factor, rather than earning a degree or certificate for professional purposes.

OLLI offers courses that conform to a liberal arts curriculum, such as literature, history, religion, philosophy, natural sciences, social sciences, performing arts, art and architecture, economics, finance, computers and lifestyle issues.

Course instructors include peer teachers, Duke professors, graduate students, independent scholars, and community experts eager to serve their communities through sharing their knowledge.

Resident Jessie Lutz, a retired professor and researcher of Chinese history, draws a crowd of 80 to 85 OLLI members to her course on that subject each Monday at Carol Woods. Interested learners from Carol Woods and the greater community pack the assembly hall to hear her lecture on different aspects of Chinese culture and history.

Lutz, who received her doctorate in modern Chinese history from Cornell, taught at several universities in China as well as Rutgers University for 30 years, focusing primarily on Christian missions in China, student nationalism, and education.

"[OLLI members] are attending classes because they're interested," Lutz said. "They're eager to learn. I do show quite a few show and tell things to keep them awake."

Lutz became interested in China when she was in graduate school, at a time when China was very much in the news.

"At that time Communists were taking over, and I knew I wanted to teach at the college level," she said. "As a woman, I knew I needed something special to get a job. So I chose Chinese history. I figured if I chose American history I would have a hard time competing."

Although she's been living in a retirement community for almost six years, that doesn't mean she's given up doing what she loves. Lutz still feels like she is working. Class preparation and lectures, she said, take up about "75 percent of my time. I spend more time than I should on them. The preparation and teaching give me a sense of satisfaction."

Resident Mary Ann Gross is the former president of DILR and has been taking classes ever since she and her husband, retired nuclear physicist Edward Gross, came to Chapel Hill in 1991.

Gross currently enjoys taking OLLI classes as a regular member and was so taken with the organization she helped start an OLLI location in Charlottesville, Va.

One thing that captured Gross's attention was that so many of the OLLI teachers were expanding their field of interests; they were teaching in subjects apart from their professional fields.

"What was amazing to me was this oncology expert teaching Van Gogh," Gross said about a class on Van Gogh's life and mental health problems.

"Many courses are taught by our members, and that means they are often pursuing a new passion," Frank said. "We also have lifelong instructors who are continuing to teach in their area of expertise."

A curriculum committee responds to the requests of the members to keep course offerings fresh and interesting to learners.

OLLI courses are held and offered at several other continuing care retirement communities in the area such as the Forest at Duke in Durham, Croasdaile Village in Durham, and Carolina Meadows in Chapel Hill.

"It's a wonderful thing for those who attend and even better for those who teach," Gross said. "We're just lucky to have it."