DEREKH FROUDE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Tom Wiley, the oldest student at UA, already had a master's degree when the old Memorial Student Union was built in 1951. Wiley, 80, returned to UA in 1989 to work toward a music degree, but only takes a few classes each semester.

When Tom Wiley came to Tucson, the old Memorial Student Union was seven years old.

"The roof didn't leak then," he said. "It was a place you got a good meal."

That student union, which was founded in 1951, was demolished last year, but Wiley, who at 80 is the oldest student on campus, was in and out of school before the union ever opened.

Wiley, a senior majoring in music composition, came to Tucson in the late 1950s, but first graduated from college in 1946, at the University of Illinois.

"College has changed. At that time, life was a little more quiet," he said.

Now he's back for more reading and homework, and he said that going back to school at 80 was a decision he made for nothing more than to stay curious.

Wiley graduated from the University of Illinois in1946 with a degree in civil engineering after serving in the army for three years during World War II and received his master's degree there in 1948.

He said when he first went to school, each dorm had a housemother, and each student was invited to a formal brunch.

Each student was expected to send a formal RSVP before attending and a formal "thank you" after the event.

"Students were used to that sort of thing," he said.

He graduated and worked in Chicago developing a public transit system there.

After working for a couple of years in Chicago, Wiley decided to return to school to do more graduate work. That's when he came to UA for the first time.

But it was not until 1989 that Wiley returned to the university to earn an additional bachelor's degree, taking only a few classes each semester.

Although university life has changed since he went to college for the first time, Wiley said that his goal to "stay curious" has kept life interesting. And, he said he believes that students should take advantage of that curiosity as they go about their daily social lives.

"For college-age people it's difficult. They hang with a certain gang of friends with the same mindset," he said. "(College) is time to become more of an individual.

"What I've discovered is that you need to have an open mind. If you don't - pry it open. I hope that would be an aim of a university," he said.

When not in school, Wiley writes music, sings in choirs and has an interest in motorcycles.

He said he once was part of a "wild little motorcycle gang" and got into an accident that left him without a spleen.

"I really need to get some work done on my motorcycle and get it running again," he said.

He recently attended some events at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"I would have loved to see the half pipe (in snowboarding), but that was sold out," he said.

Wiley is also a member of MENSA. According to its Web site, MENSA "provides a forum for intellectual exchange" among its members. Or as Wiley puts it, "I'm damn good at guessing answers to multiple choice questions."

Wiley has four daughters, all of whom attended UA.