What do a retired playwright, a first-time mother and a cardiologist have in common? Quite a lot--if they are Bill Rolleri, Kristen Wildes and Dr. Arthur Colbourn, all students in UD's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program.

Currently in its 14th year, the program that initially attracted mostly retirees now draws a diverse student population of all ages and from all walks of life. While the average age of students in the program used to be 67, today's eclectic mix has brought that average down to 47. And, it seems, everyone has something good to say about the MALS experience.

The playwright

"Altogether, the program is a terrific experience," says Rolleri, 68, formerly public relations manager for the New York Daily News and director of communications and advertising for Dun & Bradstreet.

The communications consultant and freelance writer partially retired in 1995 and moved to Delaware with his wife, Louise. "She heard about the MALS program, and after I looked into it, I decided to apply," Rolleri says.

Years before, Rolleri had earned his bachelor's degree from Queens College in New York City and picked up an additional 36 hours of graduate credits in theatre. Twenty-five years ago, as a part-time playwright, he saw several of his shows produced off-off-Broadway, but his theatre work ended when he followed his career out of town.

Today, he says, MALS has brought his love of theatre back to life.

"It was the MALS program that rekindled the interest and the passion," he says, citing in particular two drama courses he took with Heyward Brock and Kevin Kerrane, both professors of English. "Both courses were highly stimulating, and both professors were outstanding."

Because MALS students have great flexibility in designing a final project for their degree, Rolleri chose to write a play. The Bros. Flanagan, he says, is "about two American-born Irish guys who own an Irish pub in Philadelphia and see their late night business being ruined by a series of serial killings."

Since then, Rolleri has had work produced in an ever-expanding list of venues that includes the Chapel Street Theatre in Newark, Del., the Everett Theatre in Middletown, Del., and the Hedgerow Theatre in Media, Pa.

In 2000, he won Philadelphia's New Play Festival and had his work read at the Actors Studio in Manhattan. The Abingdon Theatre in New York is considering staging a reading of another work this fall.

"I started missing MALS right after my last class," Rolleri says. "I would start the program all over again if I could."

The new mom

As 31-year-old Kristen Wildes sits cuddling her 4-month-old son, Jack, she chats happily about her experience with the MALS program.

"I was working as a teacher and wanted to get into museum work," she says. "UD has a museum studies certificate program, but it has to be attached to a degree. Most people attach it to a history or art history degree, but I was more attracted to the liberal studies program.

"I'd been teaching for seven years and wasn't that interested in a traditional master's program. MALS allowed me to tailor a program to my needs and take the courses I wanted to take. The flexibility in the program is incredible."

Wildes adds that she likes having "vocationally established adults" as her classmates.

"Being in a class with people who have been out in the work world and have different life experiences to share is great," she says. "The people in the class have so much to offer, and I think the professors really appreciate teaching people who want to be there. And, because MALS offers courses at night, I could still work during the day."

As she pursued the program, Wildes landed a job with the Historical Society of Delaware, which she has had to forgo since Jack was born. Once she settles into the routine of motherhood, she says, she is looking forward to writing her thesis and graduating--with her husband and son in the audience.

The cardiologist

Imagine, if you can, a busy cardiologist with a thriving practice going back to school to expand his horizons and finding his life enriched in many ways.

That's the story of Arthur Colbourn, M.D., another satisfied customer of the MALS program.

Colbourn, who earned his bachelor's degree from UD in 1969, says he remembers enjoying his undergraduate liberal arts classes, but with an eye toward medical school, he concentrated on science courses. A cardiologist since 1979, Colbourn, 55, says he had reached a point in his life where he wanted intellectual stimulation outside of medicine. A MALS brochure piqued his interest.

"I saw this as a great opportunity to go back and open up some of my interests that had been lying dormant. I was rarely reading anything outside the field of medicine," he says. "MALS gives you the latitude to really sample a lot of things."

With a large practice that gives him occasional free weekends, Colbourn says he's found it "amazing how much you can get done if you turn off the TV."

American literature is an area that has intrigued him, and he hopes to work with English Prof. Elaine Safer to find a thesis topic.

"MALS attracts a very select group of professors, and you are actually paying for your exposure to them," he says. "They're a special group of professors, and their interaction with all of the students in seminar format results in continual discussion. It's a great format."

The first class Colbourn took in drama and performance reawakened an interest in theatre and has led him and his wife to become season-ticket holders at UD's Professional Theatre Training Program, he says.

Another benefit has been an expansion of his computer skills as he conducts research and writes papers for his courses, a task he calls "more fun than a burden."

"MALS is exactly what I was looking for," he concludes. "It's reawakened areas of my life, and I think I will always continue to read in these areas."

--Beth Thomas