Growth Doesn’t Stop at Retirement

Oak Hammock is not your typical retirement community. Founded by the University of Florida, we take pride in the ability to offer lifelong learning opportunities to our residents and the broader Gainesville community. Taking part in the Institute of Learning in Retirement, or ILR, at Oak Hammock and other interest groups allows residents to be social, engage in a love for learning new things or expand on hobbies or interests already held dear.

The Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR)

As part of our partnership with the University of Florida, Oak Hammock residents can take part in the Institute for Learning in Retirement. ILR offers continuing education classes taught by University of Florida and Santa Fe College professors and experts in particular fields of study. The classes take place right on the Oak Hammock campus.

Throughout three semesters year-round, the ILR covers a wide variety of subjects, including literature, art and music appreciation, history, creative writing classes, philosophy, sciences and current events. And, here's the real bonus: no tests, grades or prerequisites, and homework is optional! Class offerings change each semester. Some past course titles include:

• The Impact of Global Warming on Human Conditions
• Music in the Romantic Era
• Playwriting Workshop
• Why Mathematics Really Does Count
• Energy for the Future
• Ancient Peoples of the Western Hemisphere
• Southern Literature: Three Pulitzer Prize Winning Southern Writers

For more information about the Institute for Learning in Retirement, visit their website.

Interest Groups

You can choose from over 40 member-driven interest groups at Oak Hammock. Join your friends, and enjoy interacting with people in the Tennis Club, Art League, Bridge Club, Acorn Readers Club or the Oak Hammock Natural History Society. You can join groups for poker, golf, beekeeping and woodworking, as well as computing and genealogy along with many other subjects and topics.

Don’t see a group for your hobby or passion? You can start your own! This is your community and home. You get to decide how to spend your time here.