University of Richmond's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Stimulates Older Adults With Courses, Concerts, Trips
December 19, 2005
By Michelle Hershman
Doris Dieterich frequently attends classes at the University of Richmond, but she’s not the average student. At 78, she isn’t ready to settle into what many people see as the life of a senior citizen. A learning enthusiast, Dieterich discovered a rich yet affordable way to continue enjoying education through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
Established with a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco, the Osher Institute attracts Richmond residents 50 and older seeking intellectual stimulation to the university’s campus for academic and personal enrichment courses, community service, performing arts events, field trips and more.
The experiment in enriching the lives of older adults is working. Some 250 residents of the metro area have joined, and Osher has renewed its $100,000 grant a second year to the university’s School of Continuing Studies. A successful third year could lead to a permanent endowment of $1 million to perpetuate it.
“At my age, I think it is very important to stay flexible, and the more learning one can have, the better,” Dieterich says. “The Osher Institute offers so many different opportunities at all times of day.”
There are no entrance requirements—not even a college background. Osher requires only a membership fee offering additional services at different levels. Gold-level members pay $400 a year individually or $600 a year with a companion (“Gold Plus One”) for unlimited participation in courses, special activities and access to many campus facilities. At the introductory silver level, members pay $50 a year to try Osher activities, but pay an additional fee for each class. (For full details, see oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/scs/osher/.)
In addition to access to university events, the institute provides special activities. Members traveled in October to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. In September, they enjoyed a member-guest reception with entertainment by the most popular student jazz combo on campus, Bob’s Your Uncle.
Osher professor Muhammad Sahli says that young college students concentrate on a major subject, but with age, people develop interests in a wide variety of topics—arts, science, history, politics, humanities, religion.
“The Osher Institute satisfies this need for the curious, as well as for those interested in advancing their formal education,” Sahli says.
Whether Richmond’s Osher Institute and others being funded at select campuses around the country continue depends not only on the number of local residents who join, but also on the ability of members and professors to produce a feeling of momentum and belonging, says Jane Dowrick, program coordinator.
For long-term sustainability, “we need to be attuned to the lifelong learning interests of people 50 and over by involving Osher members in planning and teaching courses and creating and maintaining a sense of community among them,” Dowrick says.
Dieterich and growing numbers of older adults in Richmond show going back to school offers all kinds of alternatives to an easy chair.