UCI Grad, 61, Earns Master’s for the Joy of It

When the names are read during the UC Irvine commencement ceremonies this weekend, Carl H. Marcoux’s will be just one among 3,404 receiving degrees.

Marcoux’s name, however, has special significance.

At 61, Marcoux is the oldest person to be receiving a graduate degree from UCI this year. And Marcoux is also part of a change in education and demographics. University officials say more and more older people like Marcoux are going back to college--and not for a career change or indeed to seek any career. Such people, especially retirees, are entering college simply for the joy of learning.

“I’m retired, and no, I wasn’t seeking another career,” said Marcoux of Newport Beach. “I already have an MBA (master’s degree in business administration). I returned to college after I retired because I wanted to learn more about Latin America. I’m married to a Latin American woman, and I’ve always been interested in that part of the world.”

Took Early Retirement

Marcoux took early retirement at age 58 after a long, successful career with the financial and insurance conglomerate TransAmerica Co. He was executive vice president for TransAmerica’s property and casualty insurance headquarters in Los Angeles.

Marcoux, in an interview, acknowledged that he could have pursued his interest in Latin America simply by taking several courses during his retirement and not pursuing an advanced degree. But he said by enrolling in a master’s degree program at UCI, he injected discipline and thoroughness into his self-enrichment studies.

Marcoux, who has two grown sons, on Saturday will receive a master’s degree in Latin American history.

“After 29 years of being out of the classroom, starting again is tough,” he said. But he praised UCI professors for their help and understanding.

“I was frequently the oldest student in a class, and sometimes older than the professors,” he said. “I never felt as if I were being patronized. But I did notice one thing: Education is more authoritarian than business. I think one of the things about being a teacher is that you’re used to having your own way and not have people question you--really question you. Some teachers don’t like to be challenged.”

Bemused by Course of Study

Marcoux said he was bemused by array of required courses he had to take that were not directly linked to his field of interest. “Half the courses I took were required courses, and they were in such things as Marxian theory,” he said. “I know what they’re after. They’re trying to get the graduate student a broad, intellectual background. But it’s a difficult thing, especially if you’re not interested in (communist theorist Karl) Marx.”

Marcoux, with a smile, acknowledged that he is an advocate of capitalism. He spent his life in business, he noted, and he knows capitalism well, having risen to a top executive position in one of the nation’s larger corporations. So he said he was amused at some of the things he heard in his classes about the evils of big business and capitalism.

“Some professors are a bit naive about business,” he said.

Marcoux began his UCI master’s program in the fall of 1987. The back-to-college routine became both exhilarating and exhausting, he said.

“It got kind of rough at times,” Marcoux said. “Especially if you haven’t been writing. When I was at TransAmerica, I never worried about writing or spelling. I had a secretary. But I had to do my own writing and check my own spelling in all the writing I had to do for this degree.

“We had to do a lot of reading and writing. The average workload would be a book a week per course. And you had to analyze it, discuss it verbally and quite often write a written report each week. The demands, academically, are pretty tough. If somebody is looking for a place to kind of take it easy and goof off, I wouldn’t recommend UC Irvine.”

Even though the experience can be rigorous and demanding, Marcoux said he unhesitatingly recommends higher education for retired people.

“If somebody doesn’t have a (post-retirement) interest or involvement, they age very rapidly. I have some friends in retirement who’ve become bored with nothing but golf. They’ve moved their martini hour up from 5 o’clock to noon. And that doesn’t help.”

Education, said Marcoux, is somewhat of an anti-aging tonic for retired people. “I think you have to have a reason, a drive if you want to stay functional,” he said. “School for me was a good thing. And my next goal is to get a Ph.D.” He smiled, and added, “I don’t know where it’ll all wind up.”