June Naomi Bliven writes in the New York Times :Whatever happened to old ladies? Those gray-haired, bunned and shapeless women with ankle length hems and sensible shoes. At about age 40, they surrendered all pretension of youthful allure. after all the life span was 58. What do those ladies do now? Women have longer life spans and better health. In the 1970s they began returning to school, like the author did in 1981. She writes a history of schools opening their enrollments to older students (which began at Johns Hopkins), detailing those changes at Lake Forest College, directed by Art Zilversmit. She also details her One of the early breakers of the "glass ceiling" classes and professors - which led to an MA in Liberal Studies.