Story by Darl Devault, Contributing Editor

On Aug. 23, seniors 65 and older can begin to take scientists’ advice of adding years of robust emotional and intellectual development to their lives by auditing college classes for free at every public college and university in Oklahoma.
Auditing means enrolling in a college course because a senior is interested in the subject and wants to learn more for no grade and no credit. Called Senior Auditors by the schools, they do not have to be admitted to the school.
Seniors Auditors will attend class regularly, have access to all class materials, but will likely not need to complete homework or take any exams. Seniors may also be encouraged to participate in the class, but this is usually not required.
Some faculty may expect senior’s participation to be minimal to give more time and attention to normally enrolled students.
Seniors need to ask the faculty member about the level of engagement expected while auditing a course, including active class participation in class and completing assignments. Buying the book, course material and listening to the lectures is standard.
In Oklahoma, the procedure for signing up to audit these free classes is Pre-Internet (1994).
A Senior Auditor may enroll as an auditor by meeting the faculty member in the first class with an audit request form. Provided space is available and the faculty member approves by signing the form, the Senior Auditor files the completed audit request form with the Registrar’s office to be officially enrolled.
Initial enrollment in a course as an auditor may be completed only between the first day of class and the last day allowed for late enrollment for credit.
This privilege available for seniors 65 or older has become even more important since scientists are now saying the ability to learn new subjects helps seniors create and sustain their neuroplasticity well into old age.
It was once long believed—by the average person and by brain health experts—that each person had a finite number of brain cells, which decreased over time. Lose enough and neurological damage or diseases result, including dementia.
During the last decade researchers have learned brain health is improved by neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons grow in the brain. This results when seniors take college classes.
By learning new subjects, seniors stimulate new brain cell growth, creating neuro plasticity where existing neurons grow and form different connections with each other.
The brain is responsible for emotional health as well as memory function, remembering old memories as well as creating new ones. Because of this, neurogenesis is key for staying mentally sharp and emotionally balanced.
Fortunately for seniors, free college classes are as close as any Oklahoma institution of higher learning. This includes any Oklahoma public two-year college or four-year university.
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education codify the privilege each year in a document. On page 52 of the FY2020-2021 Tuition and Fee Rates for the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education dated September 2020 the privilege of striving for neuroplasticity is spelled out: Auditing of Classes by Senior Citizens. State System institutions are hereby authorized to waive the tuition and fees for auditing of classes for residents of the state of Oklahoma who are sixty-five (65) years of age or older. Such students may be admitted without charge to classes on a space available basis.
The number of seniors taking advantage of this privilege varies greatly. Kellie Dyer, Registrar at the University of Oklahoma, provided the numbers for the last two regular semesters. At the University of Oklahoma in the Fall 2020 semester 10 seniors audited classes and in the Spring of 2021 12 seniors audited classes for free.
Senior Auditors wishing to enroll in a course as an auditor need to get an Audit add/drop form from Enrollment Services in Buchanan Hall, Room 230, get the faculty member’s approval, and return the form to Enrollment Services.
To find out the precise manner and method of auditing classes for free at seniors’ college or university of choice contact their enrollment office. The enabling legislation does not standardize the way they do this across the system. Seniors should contact them well advance of selecting classes they want to take.
Listing of local Oklahoma Public Colleges and Universities
* Langston University, Langston, OKC
* Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City
* Oklahoma State University. Oklahopma City
* Redlands Community College, El Reno
* Rose State College, Midwest City
* University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond
* University of Oklahoma, Norman
* University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City

A new exhibition featuring acclaimed American photographer Patrick Nagatani’s (1945-2017) portfolio that addresses nuclear testing, waste and history in the state of New Mexico opens Thursday, Aug. 5, at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, located on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus. Nuclear Enchantment, a series of 40 images created by the artist between 1988 and 1993, plays upon New Mexico’s motto as the “Land of Enchantment” to raise awareness of the effects of the nuclear industry on the state’s land and people. This is the first time the entire series has been exhibited in Oklahoma.

After moving to New Mexico in 1987, Nagatani visited sites of nuclear testing and radiation in the state. He saw parallels between narratives constructed around the nuclear industry and those found in the Hollywood film industry, where he had previously worked as a set designer. “The story Nagatani reveals through vivid colors and outlandish compositions may surprise, even disturb, viewers about the region many of us escape to during hot Oklahoma summers,” said curator Hadley Jerman. “The fabricated scenes and distorted landscapes are fascinating accounts of the stranger-than-fiction tale of nuclear testing in New Mexico but also serve as pointed commentary on photography’s role in “recording” the past.”

This exhibition is made possible by the generous recent gift of the series to the museum from the FJJMA Association and the Andrew Smith Gallery. In a time when museum galleries across the nation, and the world, were shuttered for the better part of the past 18 months, the acquisition of this portfolio helps meet the museum’s mission of bringing diverse art for public display at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. “We are excited and grateful for this opportunity to expand the museum’s collection with this striking, imaginative series,” said Alison Fields, a faculty member at OU’s School of Visual Art and co-interim director of the museum. “The issues raised in Nuclear Enchantment remain relevant today, and we look forward to sharing Nagatani’s important work with the public.”

In Nuclear Enchantment, Nagatani makes visible a New Mexico whose “enchanting” vistas are poisoned by toxic waste and whose arsenal—whether celebrated in monuments or missile displays outside schools—continues to threaten New Mexico’s inhabitants, specifically Native Americans. Before his untimely death in 2017, Nagatani wrote, “My intentions are to raise public consciousness about the effects of New Mexico’s nuclear industry that continues to grow despite the damage it has already caused and will continue to bring to the state. The series, Nuclear Enchantment, attempts to awaken the many New Mexicans who still believe nuclear power poses no threat and that defense spending promotes the economy. Culturally and geographically connected to New Mexico, it is perceived by the elite powers as a place that can be abused and even reduced to rubble.”

Patrick Nagatani: Nuclear Enchantment, will be on display through January 30, 2022. Public programming for this exhibition will be announced at a later date.

Fortune® magazine has again named Legend Senior Living among the Top 25 Best Large Workplaces in Aging Services. The 2023 list has just been released, and this is the second time Legend has been included in Fortune’s Top 25 list of large workplaces. Legend is a Wichita, KS-based, privately owned senior living provider with over 50 residences in six states, including independent living, assisted living, personal care and memory care.
Fortune partners with Great Place to Work to determine the Best Workplaces in Aging Services. Surveys of more than 140,000 employees are analyzed from Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies in the aging services industry. Employees share confidential quantitative and qualitative feedback about their employer’s culture, rating it as a great employee experience in terms of “trust, respect, credibility, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.”
To be considered for the list, companies must be Great Place to Work-Certified™ and be in the aging services industry. Companies with 1,000 employees or more are considered for the large category.
“It’s especially humbling to be named to the top 25 Best Workplaces in the country because the ratings come from our employees and are completely confidential and objective,” said Matt Buchanan, President of Legend Senior Living. “We have the best-trained, most dedicated employees in senior living, and they know the culture better than anybody. A great workplace has a direct impact on delivering great service. It means we’re supporting an overall culture of independence, dignity and purpose.”
Legend residences are recognized as Great Places to Work®, have ranked among the Top 25 Best Senior Living communities in the country by Fortune magazine, and appear on U.S. News & World Report’s Best of Senior Living.
Wichita, Kansas-based Legend Senior Living® is a privately held senior housing and services company and one of the nation’s leading senior living providers. The company owns or operates over 50 senior living residences across six states – in Florida, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
To explore career options with Legend Senior Living CLICK HERE.
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LEGEND SENIOR LIVING OKLAHOMA RESIDENCES INCLUDE:
ACCLAIM LIVING – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
ARBOR HOUSE OF MIDWEST CITY – MIDWEST CITY, OK
ARBOR HOUSE OF MUSTANG – MUSTANG, OK
ARBOR HOUSE OF NORMAN – NORMAN, OK
ARBOR HOUSE REMINISCE – NORMAN, OK
GREEN TREE SAND – SPRINGS, OK
LEGEND AT COUNCIL ROAD – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
LEGEND AT JEFFERSON’S – GARDEN EDMOND, OK
LEGEND AT MINGO – ROAD TULSA, OK
LEGEND AT RIVENDELL – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
LEGEND AT TULSA HILLS – TULSA, OK
PRAIRIE HOUSE BROKEN – ARROW, OK
RIVERMONT ASSISTED LIVING AND MEMORY CARE – NORMAN, OK
RIVERMONT INDEPENDENT LIVING – NORMAN, OK
THE STONEHAVEN – TULSA, OK