Ronald J. Manheimer is an internationally sought speaker, former executive director of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR), an award-winning lifelong learning, leadership, research, and community service program of the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Ron was also Research Associate Professor of Philosophy at UNC Asheville. Before becoming the NCCCR’s first director in 1988, Manheimer was director of older adult education for The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) in Washington, D.C.
Ron is trained in philosophy with a Ph.D. from the Board of Studies in History of Consciousness, University of California, Santa Cruz. His first book, Kierkegaard As Educator (University of California Press, 1977), explores the Danish philosopher and theologian’s stages of human development, scholarship that Ron has applied to his work in the field of aging and human development. Ron has taught at Wayne State University, the University of California, Santa Cruz, San Diego State University, The Evergreen State College, UNC-Asheville, and the Smithsonian.
Ron has combined scholarly and practical interests through developing educational programs for retirement-aged people in colleges, universities, libraries, senior centers, nursing homes and retirement communities. He has published numerous studies investigating philosophical issues of later life and human development, including A Map to the End of Time: Wayfarings with Friends and Philosophers (Norton, 1999), and information and resource volumes such as the Older Americans Almanac: A Reference Work on Seniors in the United States (Gale Research, Inc., 1994), The Second Middle Age: Looking Differently at Life Beyond 50 (Visible Ink Press, 1995), and Older Adult Education: A Guide to Research, Policies and Programs (Greenwood Press, 1995). His books have been translated into Chinese and Korean.
Ron is a frequent contributor to scholarly monographs, journals and mainstream publications including the Wall St. Journal and Where to Retire magazine. He is frequently cited in national publications (e.g., Business Week, Money, Smart Money, Wall St. Journal) for his insights on the changing nature of retirement and the expectations of mainly the college-educated Baby Boomers. He has also appeared on such TV programs as CBS Sunday Morning and The Daily Apple (Retirement Living Network). He has provided consulting services to housing developers (including retirement communities), financial services companies (e.g., UBS, ING, MetLife), economic development groups and chambers of commerce of communities seeking to attract retirees. He is active in national aging organizations and is a Fellow of the University of North Carolina Institute on Aging.
