They're UB "senior auditors"-men and women over 60 whose lives are enthusiastic testimonials to the joys of lifelong learning. Their contributions to university classes are legion. Faculty members say they add depth and richness to class discussions and inform conversations in the disciplines in ways that contribute mightily to younger students' learning experience. In fact, many professors can't get enough of them.

Although not centralized or highly marketed, the senior auditor program is one of the most community-friendly and popular at UB. It offers those eligible free and open access to virtually any course offered at the university on the undergraduate and graduate levels and in the professional schools.

"I think people should know that not every university has such a wonderful program," said auditor Yvonne Smith of Buffalo, a retired family therapist who has been part of the program for three years. "The buildings are ugly-well, to me, they are-but inside there are wonderful, warm, gifted, very friendly people. No one should be afraid of being left out or alone if they audit classes. You'll fit right in."

Smith said she loves educational elder hostels and during a session at the University of Florida, Gainesville, those she spoke with were amazed when told about UB's auditing program.

"We're so lucky in Buffalo," she said. "I don't think most people realize what possibilities there are for them at UB. It's a fantastic resource for this community."

UB's senior auditors attend classes on a space-available basis, although there is nearly always space available. The only exception to that rule is that auditors, like enrolled students, are required to have completed required class prerequisites. The program has no other academic requirements and the best part is that there are no examinations to take or papers to write.

Rita Lipsitz, recently retired assistant to the chair of the Department of English, has encouraged and advised senior learners on an ex officio basis for several decades and continues to do so as a university volunteer.

"Rita's been marvelous over the years," said Hilda Koren, an 18-year auditor and wife of the late Robert Koren, former chair of the UB Council. "All of us in the program trust her and she's been of enormous help to all of us."

Lipsitz said she doubts that the auditors "realize how much faculty members love to have them in their class. Every semester they call and ask me to send them more auditors."

She noted that more than 100 annually attend arts-and-letters courses alone. Nine auditors once showed up en masse for a mythology class taught by Diane Christian, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of English. Christian later told them she really enjoyed their sense of humor because they'd understood her references to the cultural icons of her own past.

Many seniors ask for courses of general interest-counseling, history, health, law, Shakespeare, folklore, anthropology, American literature, Greek or Latin literature in translation, art, art history. They also line up for courses that are topic-centered and interdisciplinary as opposed to esoteric and narrowly focused, although there are exceptions.

Thanks to Lipsitz and its abundance of distinguished faculty members, the English Department has been very popular with auditors over the years. Many of the faculty members have had a lot of repeat business.

"Art history is popular, too" Lipsitz said, "and the social sciences, classics-Jack Peradotto is popular. In the law school, Professor Lucinda Finley has asked me to direct even more people her way."

Finley noted that "if the law-school faculty realized the hard work, depth of experience and enthusiasm these people bring to class, there'd be many more requests by law professors. Auditors really fire up the younger students, not to mention the fact that they have so many different ways of approaching issues and addressing legal problems. I really like them."

Peradotto, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and Andrew V.V. Raymond Professor of Classics, added: "I have nothing but great things to say about the senior auditors. Their class participation is usually considerably greater than that of other students. They set a good example, ask lots of questions and they're always prepared."

The auditors, he added, "bring a different kind of relevance and perspective to the material studied and they have a lot of sympathy for the younger students. They sometimes act as a spur to the younger kids, encouraging them to raise issues and question assumptions they might not otherwise bring up."

Koren noted: "First you just see all these young people and feel a little out-of-place, like maybe you don't belong here. But then you meet people in class and at lunch or getting coffee and you get to know them and share information. Pretty soon, you have many friends and you have a learning community of your very own.

"I used to sort of run with different people every year," Koren said. "but now I take a lot of classes with a solid group of about 10 fellow auditors. We got to know one another from different classes. Some of us have degrees, but not everyone, and some of us are UB graduates.

"Last year," she said, "several of us took David Schmid's course on mystery literature. We studied Arthur Conan Doyle and other great mystery writers. Some took Neil Schmitz's course on how authors have written their family histories and we wrote our own. He's really good. Then 10 of us signed up for the Humanities 101 course that Bruce Jackson taught last fall.

"It was absolutely fantastic!" she said. "Bruce used to have lunch with us in the atrium sometimes, and so many great people lectured-David Felder, Leslie Fiedler and all the others. I can't tell you how much I learned. We all just loved it."

Koren's first auditing experience was nearly two decades ago in an early American literature course taught by Robert Daly, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Department of English. This semester, she cajoled five of her cohort to sign up for Daly's modern American literature class.

"I made them take it," she said. "I told them they had to experience a class with this man. The professors must be embarrassed at times to have us around. We're always thanking them and telling them how wonderful they are. They probably hate that."

Any problems? As you might expect, parking reared its miserable little head. Walking long distances is sometimes difficult for some seniors, and can be treacherous in the winter. Nevertheless, many strap on the crampons year after year and crawl up the icy hill from the Baldy Lot just to wade into Baudelaire for an hour or discuss Brahms or curl up in the stacks with the domestic archaeology of Knossos.

Others report that parking is no problem at all-"You park your car, take the shuttle and after that, you just use the elevators and enclosed bridges," said Smith. "What's the big deal? The whole campus is enclosed."

"Listen-snow, rain, it doesn't matter," Koren said. "God didn't mean for me to play cards. I go into withdrawal when school is out. I've been blessed with marvelous experiences and a broadened world view through this program. Many of my professors have become my friends. It's been a wonderful gift and I'm enormously grateful."

Two other champions of the senior students are George Lopos, dean of Millard Fillmore College, and Larry Gingrich, MFC associate dean for summer sessions.

Gingrich said that seniors should know that there are fewer spaces available during summer sessions and that, because summer courses are condensed, auditors should be prepared for them to move quickly.

He said that Lipsitz "is an excellent person to talk to before selecting a summer course or one during the regular semesters because she's very, very familiar with the programs here and with the instructors and the curricula. She's also interested and most willing to offer guidance and suggestions to new senior auditors." Lopos added that MFC also has full-time advisors available to help potential auditors choose courses.

Asked about the volume of such students UB can handle, Lopos said, "We can handle many more very easily. And we want to."

Lipsitz said that many auditors go on to complete their degrees, a possibility enhanced by the interdisciplinary academic programs now available. These allow students to design their own programs to reflect complex, multi-disciplinary topics like environmental history, digital art for health education or the anthropology of ancient cultures.

Annette "Angel" LaVallee, a Williamsville resident who earned a nursing degree in Vermont in 1953, began taking English courses here in 1978. She received her bachelor of arts degree in English cum laude last May. She's been auditing ever since.

LaVallee also formed a UB "sorority" while matriculating that includes Hilda Koren and other auditors-Pi Mu Zeta-PMZ-which she said stands for "Post-Menopausal Zest," something these women have by the barrel.

"Anything is possible when it comes to continued learning," Lopos said. "We live longer, healthier, more active lives today that we ever have. People well into their 80s are often very active physically and mentally, as we know from our auditors."

Information about UB's senior auditing program can be obtained from Lipsitz at 832-6015 or 645-2575 ext. 5015. Terry Sikorski or Sally Stroupe at 829-2202 can provide information about senior auditing of courses offered through Millard Fillmore College.