Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Gets $1 Million Grant
SCU's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute receives $1 million of support from The Bernard Osher Foundation.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 30, 2016 —Santa Clara University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) has received a $1 million grant of support from the Bernard Osher Foundation.
OLLI recognizes that learning is a lifelong journey and has been offering courses to non-traditional students since 2004. Course offerings such as Spies: A History of Espionage and Intelligence and Using Historical Postcards in Your Genealogy Research, and Destination Learning trips to places like Mare Island Park pique students’ interests.
OLLI@SCU is an initiative of the College of Arts and Sciences and is one of 119 Osher Institutes, all made possible by generous grants and endowments from the Bernard Osher Foundation. The Bernard Osher Foundation seeks to improve quality of life through support for higher education and the arts. This is the second million-dollar grant SCU has received from the Foundation.
“The continued support from the Osher Foundation and the College of Arts and Sciences will further enhance our ability to flourish at SCU and remain an integral part of the campus community,” said Andrea Saade, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
More than 200 volunteers provide Santa Clara alumni and non-alumni alike the opportunity to continue learning and connecting with people as they approach retirement age and beyond. In the classroom, course instruction is at the university level. There are no tests, grades, or papers, although some classes may have some reading or other preparation. Instructors are selectively vetted through the Curriculum Committee, and consist of current and retired faculty members, independent scholars, and field professionals. A key element of the vetting process includes previous feedback received from member evaluations.
The $1 million grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation will help OLLI continue its program offerings which, besides a variety of courses, includes the Distinguished Speaker Series, Lifelong Learning Through Travel program, and the opportunity to join Special Interest Groups.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact: Tina Vossugh | tvossugh@scu.edu (408) 829-4836