Road Scholar is an American

not-for-profit organization A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

that provides educational travel programs primarily geared toward

older adults Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

. The organization is headquartered in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. From its founding in 1975 until 2010, Road Scholar was known as Elderhostel. Road Scholar offers study tours throughout the United States and Canada and in approximately 150 other countries.

History

Elderhostel was founded in 1975 by friends Marty Knowlton, social activist and self-described

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

, and David Bianco, director of residential life at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

. Knowlton rejected the

ageist Ageism, also called agism in American English, is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against Old age, elderly people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this ...

belief that one's mind must fail as one ages. After four years of

backpacking Backpacking may refer to: * Backpacking (travel), low-cost, independent, international travel * Backpacking (hiking), trekking and camping overnight in the wilderness * Ultralight backpacking, a style of wilderness backpacking with an emphasis on ...

through Europe and staying in

hostels A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

, Knowlton, then in his 50s, returned to the United States to direct the youth hostel program at the University of New Hampshire. There, he and Bianco, the university administrator, decided that society needed "elder hostels" in addition to youth hostels. The program started in the summer of 1975, offering older adults noncredit classes and

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

housing on

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

es in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

—a sort of "

summer school Summer school (or summer university) is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, or provided by a private company, that provides lessons and activities during the summer vacation. Participation in summer school ...

for retired people." Elderhostel was officially established as a not-for-profit organization in 1977. Its program offerings expanded through the United States and Canada, and eventually internationally. By the 1990s, more than 200,000 people were learning with Elderhostel each year. In 2010, Elderhostel changed its name to Road Scholar in order to appeal to the next wave of older travelers:

Baby Boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that ...

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

James Moses explained the name change to the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'': "Hostel" no longer accurately described the

lodging Lodging refers to the use of a short-term dwelling, usually by renting the living space or sometimes through some other arrangement. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, food, safety, shel ...

offered on the programs and "Baby Boomers, even when they're in their 60s, don't like to think of themselves as 'elders, he said. For a few months during 2010, the company was called Exploritas before changing its name to Road Scholar because they were sued for infringing on the name.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Adult education in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Boston Organizations established in 1975 Seniors' organizations Travel and holiday companies of the United States Lifelong learning 1975 establishments in New Hampshire

History

See also

References

External links