Road Scholar’s 50th Anniversary: A Look Back at a Year of Celebration
- In 2025, Road Scholar celebrated its 50th anniversary with a full year’s worth of events, awards and special learning adventures.
- Some of these highlights included a keynote lecture from historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the inaugural Age Adventurously Day and the introduction of the Age Well lecture series.
- By taking a look at Road Scholar’s 50th Anniversary Timeline and 50 Roads to Learning collection, you can continue learning and celebrating!
As 2025 comes to a close, we’re filled with gratitude for the amazing community of learners who joined us in celebrating 50 years of Road Scholar. It was a year dedicated to the spirit of discovery that has defined us from the very beginning — and you were at the heart of it all.
Together, we didn't just mark a milestone — we created new memories, shared unforgettable stories and reaffirmed our shared belief that learning is a lifelong adventure.
Keynote With Doris Kearns Goodwin
We wanted to commemorate our 50th anniversary with as many Road Scholars as possible — so we brought our celebration online! More than 12,000 Road Scholars sat down at their computers and tablets and listened live to renowned historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose address “Leadership in Turbulent Times,” spoke extensively about the history of four presidents as they led through moments of national crisis. Her keynote was a standout moment in a year of celebration as thousands of Road Scholars from across the country came together online to learn from the past and engage with the present.
The Inaugural Age Adventurously Day
On June 8, we marked the first annual Age Adventurously Day as members of the Road Scholar community celebrated living life to the fullest. On social media, we encouraged Road Scholars to go out into the world and learn by trying something new, and to share their Age Adventurously stories. George Hood was our inaugural Age Adventurously Day story winner after he shared his past and future road trips that kept him interested and engaged in learning and exploring, exemplifying the true meaning of aging adventurously.
Learning How to Age Well
2025 also brought the introduction of our Age Well lecture series: A collection of online lectures for Road Scholars to enjoy for free, from home, all centered around learning about and navigating the Fourth Age of life. Specific lecture topics included how to access new technologies and accessibility tools to support independent living, health and wellness strategies and how to build social connections. Not only have these lectures engaged individuals, but they have formed the basis of a blossoming Road Scholar community with its own blogs, book recommendations and Facebook Group.
Honoring Teachers With the Educator Legacy Award
This was a year of firsts. In 2025, we also accepted nominations for our first-ever Educator Legacy Award. We heard countless stories of recently retired or soon-to-retire teachers and their impacts on their communities — and 90 of those were nominations for one specific teacher: Christopher Gray. Students, student athletes, colleagues and parents wrote in to tell of Mr. Gray’s compassion, leadership and the confidence that he instills in his pupils and the athletes that he coaches. Mr. Gray received a well-deserved $5,000 travel voucher to help jumpstart his lifelong learning journey in retirement.
A Thank You to Our Donors
A celebration of Road Scholar wouldn’t be complete without a celebration of our donors. Our community of lifelong learners are dedicated not only to our mission, but also to one another, and their financial support enables even more Road Scholars to enjoy learning and exploration. Since 1975, we’ve granted more than $8.5 million in financial assistance to adult learners, thanks in part to the 3.6 million participants who have supported our mission. We also celebrated the 10th anniversary of our Caregiver Grants, and are proud to have awarded more than 500 Caregiver Grants since 2015. None of this would have been possible without the generous support of our donors!
Special Staff Milestones
Some of Road Scholar’s dedicated staff has been around since our earliest days and it’s hard to find a better example of the Road Scholar spirit than its “first employee,” Mike Zoob. Mike came to Road Scholar because of his previous nonprofit experience and his friendship with founders Marty Knowlton and David Bianco. Over the years, Mike handled everything from legal affairs and grants to program organization. Now, he continues to serve as a mentor, and also as a participant — he has brought each of his grandchildren on Grandparent Adventures. This year, Mike celebrated his 90th birthday alongside Road Scholar’s milestone anniversary.
By the Numbers
- 90,530 Road Scholars explored the world with us this year.
- 43,000+ learners joined us online for Road Scholar At Home adventures.
- 3,014 grandchildren became first-time Road Scholars alongside their grandparents on our Grandparent Adventures.
We’re grateful for 100% of you, whether you participated in a Road Scholar program this year, in past years or are a member of our community on Facebook. It’s because of you that we are celebrating 50 years of Road Scholar, and we look forward to many more years of learning, friendship and adventure.
Want a visual look at some of Road Scholar’s major milestones and developments over the past 50 years? Take a look at our online timeline for snapshots from our incredible journey.