Flex Your Brain and Exercise
Your Curiosity with
Vistas Lifelong Learning
Santa Barbara Continuing Education Program
Offers Wide Variety of Courses, from Civil Rights to Pirates
By Callie Fausey | August 24, 2023
Find the rest of our 2023 Active Aging Guide here.
In a Tennessean accent he thought he’d lost but that came through the phone clear as day, Robert Benham explained how he “stumbled” upon Santa Barbara. Benham, president of Vistas Lifelong Learning, toured a property with his wife right above the Santa Barbara Bowl and “accidentally” bought the house.
“That is not characteristic of me, because I’ve got two vehicles — one’s 19 years old and the other’s 22 years old — so I don’t make decisions in a hurry,” he said. “But when I walked out on the deck, I just turned to my wife and said, ‘This is where I want to spend the rest of my life.’ ”
Soon after moving to Santa Barbara, Benham discovered Vistas, a continuing education nonprofit now celebrating its 24th year. Benham, like a majority of its 350-plus members, is a retiree. The program, he explained, is designed for those who want to continue seeking knowledge and learning new things in their later years. It’s self-governing, peer-led, and one of the few unaffiliated lifelong learning organizations in the United States.
Many students in the program are former physicians, college professors, and lawyers. Benham himself practiced law and was a trial judge for 15 years. He grew up in Chattanooga, where he learned how to read thanks to the Chattanooga Times.
“By the time I was in 1st grade, I knew how to read mainly because during World War II — I’m very old, as my grandson says — my mother would sit and read the newspaper to me and I kind of followed along about what was going on in the war,” he said.
Through his 10 years with Vistas, Benham learned more about the history that was unfolding around him as he came of age and began his career. The courses are taught by quality educators who come from the likes of Princeton and Harvard and have decades of experience in the topics they cover — from the foods of Italy and France to the science behind the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
After being invited to Vistas by friends they’d met while still newcomers to the city, Benham and his wife enrolled in their first class, taught by a retired ophthalmologist. Since then, he’s taken classes on a wide range of topics, including the worldwide eradication of smallpox, and two years ago, he took six sessions on civil rights, starting with Emmett Till and ending with Martin Luther King Jr.
“I was going to school in Nashville and was a witness to the early sit-ins, as well as the demonstrations of John Lewis and others in peaceful protest,” Benham shared. “And that’s something that’s always been of interest to me.”
Sadly, Benham’s wife, Ann, passed away in February. He described her as beautiful, kind, warm, “extremely well-qualified in a whole lot of different areas,” and a wonderful teacher. She was a Vistas lecturer, alongside her son. “Her real cup of tea was early childhood education,” Benham said, adding that her courses were popular with the many grandparents in the program.
In the years he’s been involved with the program, Benham has seen very few courses repeated. It’s always something new, he said. One exception, however, are the classes on end-of-life decisions.
“It’s a very important thing to be educated on,” Benham said. They bring in professionals from Cottage Hospital and doctors who specialize in elder care to inform students about essential aspects of end-of-life preparations, such as the necessary paperwork and what to discuss with a physician.
Their calendar for fall courses comes out soon, which will feature more than 15 classes in a diverse range of topics, including one on the 35-year career of a female general in the CIA and another on pirates.
Membership fees are nominal, Benham said, and pay-by-course options are offered, ranging from $20 to $50 depending on the number of sessions and membership status. Classes typically run for two to six weeks and take up about two-and-a-half hours per week.
In addition, Vistas offers scholarships. Benham said they can make arrangements for financial aid so anyone can attend, no matter their circumstances. He suggests those who may be interested in enrolling but have hesitated due to the cost should reach out to him directly at (805) 967-6030 or vistas@vistaslife
longlearning.org. All requests remain confidential.
“I think Vistas plays an important role in the community, and we’ve got a huge number of retired people here in Santa Barbara,” Benham said. “You either use it or you lose it — this gives you an outlet to keep acquiring additional knowledge and keep being informed.”
Learn more at vistaslifelonglearning.org or attend their informational fall picnic on Saturday, September 9, from 12:30-3 p.m. at the Kiwanis Meadows in Tucker’s Grove Park.
You must be logged in to post a comment.