Editor's note (Summer 2007): Since this article first appeared in Bay Area Summit's Spring 2004 issue, the
number of Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLIs) has grown to more than 100 around the United States.
For a complete listing, see the National Resource Center website for the network of OLLIs at
http://www.usm.maine.edu/olli/national. Changes in the Bay Area include the launch of an OLLI program at
Dominican University in San Rafael. UC Berkeley's OLLI program, which has been on hiatus since the fall of 2005,
is scheduled to re-launch in the fall of 2007. Please visit the OLLI program websites listed below for additional
changes in curricula, registration fees, leadership, etc.
"Back to School" Takes on a New Meaning
If you've recently noticed a slew of
newspaper and magazine advertisements featuring gray-haired college students, there's a reason: universities across the Bay Area are
busy recruiting students for new educational programs aimed at older adults.
Thanks to a series of grants from the San Francisco-based Bernard Osher Foundation, U.C. Berkeley, UCSF,
San Francisco State and four other Bay Area universities have launched programs – each is called an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
(OLLI) – that are open only to students aged 50 and above.
These new programs – most opened their doors in 2003 – offer an eclectic mix of courses and are free of exams,
homework and grades. They are also priced affordably and often tap senior or emeritus professors to teach courses.
Susan Hoffman, director of the OLLI program at San Francisco State, says the programs are important because
people are living longer and older adults are looking for ways to continue leading active and intellectually stimulating lives,
particularly after they retire from their jobs.
"The students in our program are highly educated, well-traveled and have lots of professional experience.
They are not ready to retire from the world and just play golf all the time. They want to continue learning and contributing
to their families and communities," says Hoffman.
Now in its second year, San Francisco State's OLLI program offers courses on a broad range of topics, from
Bay Area politics and "fearless" public speaking to nutrition and alternative medicine, at the university's campus in downtown San Francisco.
Fees range from $90 for students taking one course per semester to $220 for those taking four courses. Lunchtime and evening
courses are available for working students.
San Francisco State's OLLI program also provides opportunities for students to use their skills and experience
outside the classroom, through partnerships with non-profits organizations such as the Urban Institute and the Asian Art Museum.
The Bay Area's older residents "have a t remendous amount to offer the rest of society," says Hoffman, who believes that older
students can help solve some of the state's problems.
The OLLI program at UC Berkeley, also in its second year, offers daytime courses on a variety of humanities,
science, religion and current affairs subjects. The courses, most of which are taught by emeritus Cal professors, run once a
week for seven weeks. For a fee of $345, students can take up to four courses per semester. Students can also enroll for an
entire year (fall, winter and spring semesters) for $975. Those who join the program are entitled to ticket discounts at Cal
Performances, the UC Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, the Oakland Museum, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley
Repertory Theatre and other East Bay cultural organizations.
"The fact that our enrollment has more than doubled in the past year shows what a big void we're filling.
Nothing of this type has existed before in the East Bay," says Velma Parness, director of Berkeley's OLLI program. "All of our
students are here because they love the intellectual stimulation. The professors also love teaching these courses because the
students are here for the joy of learning. They don't have to teach to the test or deal with grades."
Capitalizing on its faculty's medical expertise, UCSF's OLLI program offers courses on an array of health-focused
topics, from infectious diseases to caring for aging relatives.
Other Bay Area universities that have recently sprouted OLLI programs include Hayward State, San Jose State,
Sonoma State and UC Santa Cruz. In all, the Osher Foundation has seeded OLLI programs at 18 public universities around the country
since 2000, including 14 in California.
Under the program, the Osher Foundation offers universities $100,000 a year for three years to establish lifelong
learning institutes. If the programs are successful, the schools become eligible for a $1 million endowment at the end of three
years to keep the programs going. Sonoma State University has won a $1 million grant endowment for its program, which began in 2000.
Many of the OLLI programs look to the University of San Francisco's Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning as a
model, says Hoffman. Founded in 1976, the Fromm Institute is widely recognized as a pioneer in educational programs for older
adults. Fromm now offers 50 courses in three eight-week sessions a year.
Following are sources of more information about the Bay Area's OLLI programs:
(This article originally appeared in the Spring 2004 issue of Bay Area Summit)
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