“It’s really an important part of my life,” said member Jeanne Nowaki. “The classes are interesting, but the bonus is meeting people from different fields.”
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa was founded in 1996-97, when a group of community elders, retired professors and university administrators established the Academy for Lifelong Learning (ALL). Its mission was to strengthen connections between the university and the community, and promote lifelong learning, leadership, and community service for older learners. A generous endowment from The Bernard Osher Foundation emphasizes providing older adults with opportunities to learn purely for the joy of learning.
What is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute?
OLLI-UHM is an educational membership program offering noncredit, college-level courses and other activities to encourage learners ages 50 and over to engage their minds, enrich their lives and serve the community.
Older adults are a resource for society, with continuing social, developmental and intellectual needs. OLLI-UHM provides a forum to meet those needs and validate their contributions.
How does the program benefit participants?
We know that lifelong learning keeps the mind sharp, fighting cognitive impairment most effectively when mentally challenging activities are combined with active social engagement. That is exactly what OLLI-UHM excels at, providing members with an ever-expanding array of courses, workshops, film series, arts events, museum tours and more, in an engaging supportive social environment.
Who teaches classes?
Classes are taught on a volunteer basis by active and retired professors, as well as community members who are experts in a particular subject. Some members teach in areas entirely different than their professional expertise, as they expand their knowledge base with post-retirement passions. Members may be students in one class and the instructor or facilitator in another.
As Jack Sullivan, a member since the program started in 1996, said, “They love their subject so much they are willing to do this without pay.”
How can people sign up?
The OLLI-UHM 2017 Spring Term will run from Jan. 23 to April 28, with no classes during UH’s Spring Break the last week of March. We offer noncredit courses and special events on a wide-range of topics and disciplines.
The spring course brochure will be completed and available by mid-December.
Contact Carole at mandryk@hawaii.edu or 808-956-8224 to learn more about workshops and special events, and to be added to the mailing list.
COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
2500 Dole St., Krauss Hall 113-C, Honolulu HI 96822
808-956-8224
