By Jennifer K. Morita

June 272023

Dolores Eitel87was on a mission to educate her generation and other “mature adults” about pronouns.

“My goal was to teach people my age that male and female are not the only genders people are born with,” she said. “Hence the terms cisgendergender fluidnonbinary … and I wanted to teach them what these pronouns people are using are about.”

During the springEitel taught a 10-week seminar on “Gender IdentitySexuality and the Human Condition” through Sacramento State’s Renaissance Societya lifelong learning program for older adults featuring University staff and faculty speakers.

“The speakers did such a wonderful job telling their honest stories that word got out how good the class was,” Eitel said.

The Renaissance Society has launched a free 2023 summer program at Sac State celebrating diversity and untold stories. Every Friday through July 28the public is invited to hear guest speakers on topics such as the demise of Sacramento’s Chinatown and Japantownthe Black roots of rock-and-roll and local multicultural businesses.

The series ends with a gospel choir performance at St. Andrews AME Church in Sacramento.

The Renaissance Society formed in 1986 when two Sac State professors came up with the idea of a lifelongpeer-to-peer learning programaccording to Deborah Seilerthe Renaissance Society’s president.

“They didn’t want to quit teachingand they didn’t want to quit learning,” Seiler said.

They approached then-University President Donald Gerthwho gave the group $2,500 in seed moneyand started with four seminars.

Now the Renaissance Society has a full catalog of forums with guest speakers such as California Secretary of State Shirley Weberand seminars taught by fellow members and volunteers on topics including how the pyramids in Egypt were builtgardeningmoviestravel and technology basics for seniors.

“We have people from all walks of life talking to us about every conceivable topic,” Seiler said.

During the academic yearRenaissance Society members can be seen on campus every Friday going to their classes or grabbing lunch in the Union.

Shared interest groups also offer opportunities for members to socialize outside of their classes.

“The Renaissance Society is awesome. They’re super into collaborating and they want to get connected with students.” -- Rachel August, Psychology professor at Sac State

The group also provides significant student supportannually donating thousands of dollars to Sac State students through scholarships and contributions to the Associated Students Inc. Food Pantry.

In 2022-23members contributed over $22,000 in addition to donating food. For two consecutive yearsthe Renaissance Society took home the Golden Plate Award for giving the most food baskets during the Thanksgiving food drive.

Every yearthe group gives out $3,000 scholarships to seven Sac State students. Since 1993the Renaissance Society has awarded $269,000 in scholarships.

At its peak in 2019the Renaissance Society had more than 2,300 members.

“But when COVID hitwe had to completely pivot to Zoomand we did lose quite a few members,” Seiler said.

By spring of 2023membership had dropped to 1,700. But the organization’s reach also grew to include members living in MaineTexasOklahomaand Washington.

So when the campus reopened to studentsthe Renaissance Society went hybridoffering Zoom classes Monday through Thursdayand in-person sessions every Friday at Sac State. Several Friday classes also were streamed on ZoomSeiler said.

Many members living in the outlying parts of the Sacramento region prefer Zoom classes to avoid trafficor the hassles of parking on campus.

“But we also have members who are passionate about coming to campus and interacting with students and feeling a part of this wonderful community,” Seiler said.

Registration to join the Renaissance Society is now openand leaders hope to add more people and increase diversity.

“We want our membership to be more reflective of the Sacramento area and be more reflective of the students on campuswho are a very diverse student body,” Seiler said.

Dora Dugars joined the Renaissance Society during the pandemic to keep busy after the volunteer programs she participated in shut down. She helped organize this year’s summer program focusing on diverse storiesbringing her experience as one of the few Black women working in the information technology industry in the 1980s.

“You’re never going to understand each other if you don’t participate,” Dugars said. “I look at it as trying to understand people and helping them understand me. I have six grandkidsand I do what I do because I want a better world for my grandkids.”

Many members enjoy interacting with Sac State students. Each yearmembers volunteer to be interviewed by students in Psychology Professor Rachel August’s qualitative research course.

“The Renaissance Society is awesome,” August said. “They’re super into collaborating and they want to get connected with students.”

August collaborates with the Renaissance Society to have her students conduct a needs assessment study on what the organization is doing well and how it can improve. Students interview members for an hour or moreanalyze the information and turn in their reports.

“In the beginningmy students are pretty nervous,” August said. “These are people who are multiple generations out from themand we are in such a different world now than the world the people they’re interviewing grew up with.

“But in the endthey say it was so much easier than they thought it would be.”

In addition to helping August’s students fulfill their research requirementRenaissance Society members mentor gerontology students.

“We also give up our aging bodies to the Physical Therapy Department,” Seiler said.

Doctoral candidates put the seniors through their paces by taking their blood pressuremeasuring fat content and testing whether they can sit in a chair and touch their toes or climb a flight of stairs without using the handrail.

“We do squats and they see how far we can walk in six minutes,” Seiler said. “It’s another opportunity for us to connect with students.”

Eitelwho doesn’t have grandchildrenlikes being around young people.

“I ask them a lot of questions because I like to learn from them,” Eitel said.

Renaissance Society members also volunteer to be ushers at University performances. The Renaissance Society will hold an Orientation and Open House in the University Union Ballrooms at 10 a.m. Aug. 18.