Lifelong learning expands to Medford

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July 11, 2008

By Paris Achen

Mail Tribune

A continuing education program for retirees at Ashland's Southern Oregon University will expand to Medford next fall.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, previously called Southern Oregon Learning in Retirement, will hold classes at the new SOU/Rogue Community College Higher Education Center at 101 S. Bartlett St., as well as at its current location at SOU.

"We really want to expand this lifelong learning opportunity to our neighbors because sometimes it's hard to get to Ashland," said Sally Klein, OLLI program coordinator. "The Higher Education Center provides the opportunity right in their backyard."

A $100,000 grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation made the expansion possible and pays for rent, Klein's salary and electronic presentation equipment. It's the second $100,000 grant the institute has received in the past two years from the San Francisco-based foundation that gives mostly post-secondary scholarship funding to colleges and universities. There are 124 lifelong learning institutes across the nation, all of which have received funding from Osher.

The local institute has one of the largest enrollments, said OLLI volunteer Bernie Hartman.

The institute provides volunteer instructors, many retired university professors, to teach not-for-credit courses ranging from how to use a computer to science.

"It's really candy for the brain," Klein said. "It's not just academic subjects. It's music and art."

Membership costs $100 and provides access to all the institute's classes and activities for three terms.

"They can take as many classes as they want," Klein said.

Some people take as many as eight classes a term, Hartman said.

Membership dues and grants pay for operation of the program.

The institute is applying for an endowment of $1 million from Osher to help sustain operations and give the program more stability.

Last year, the institute doubled its instructional space at SOU and boosted membership by 21 percent to 789.

"That (grant) aided us to do some publicity for the first time in our (15-year) history and additional classrooms allowed us to serve more people comfortably," said OLLI President Larry Kellogg. "Then, when the joint RCC/SOU center came up, we jumped on that. We were able to lease on Friday only. If interest is there, we might go Monday through Friday."

About 73 percent of students are Ashland residents.

By moving to the higher education center, the institute hopes to draw more retirees from Medford and surrounding communities.

Fifty-three classes will be offered in the fall. Registration begins today. The deadline to enroll is Aug. 1. Classes begin Sept. 8.

Classes at the Higher Education Center this fall include "Charles Darwin: His Life and Time," "Islam: For Better or Worse," "Reading Poetry Aloud" and "Eating for Health and Pleasure." Another 49 classes will be offered at SOU's Campbell Building, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland.

Hartman, a retired comparative physiology professor, will teach the course about Charles Darwin, focusing on the conflict between scientific and religious beliefs at the time that "Origin of the Species" was published in 1859.

In addition to teaching, Hartman and his wife, Makiko, have taken courses at OLLI for the past eight years.

He said he recently read some comment cards by students giving feedback on the OLLI program.

"One person said, 'OLLI gives me a reason for getting up in the morning,' " Hartman said. "It's that important for a lot of people."

For details or a class catalog, visit http://sou.edu/olli/ or call OLLI at 552-6048.

Reach reporter Paris Achen at 541-776-4459 or pachen@mailtribune.com.

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