Steve Thaxton, Executive Director of the National Resource Center of Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, spoke at Bradley University Wednesday afternoon. The Director gave a keynote speech at the annual fall kickoff event, welcoming over 300 instructors, volunteers and OLLI members.
“OLLI is comprised of people who are age 50 or older who want to keep learning and stay active as they reach retirement age or as they enjoy retirement,” Michelle Riggio, assistant director of Continuing Education and Professional Development, said.
Thaxton has spent a majority of this year traveling to OLLI programs nationwide.
“Many of my visits have been akin to this one at Bradley,” Thaxton said. “This is my nineteenth visit so far this year.”
Bradley OLLI, one of 119 centers nationwide, is a year-round continuing-education program that is comprised of non-credit classes, study groups, educational travel, lectures and cinema outings. The program is a division under the Office of Academic Affairs.
“You don’t have to be an alum [of Bradley], you don’t have to have a college degree,” Riggio said. “You just have to be 50 and want to learn.”
According to Thaxton, Bradley’s OLLI enrollment numbers are average, but there is a high number of members who regularly participate in events.
“Something I’m seeing here is the level of engagement,” Thaxton said. “To have 40 percent of your membership involved in volunteer activities is a very high percentage. That is probably one of the keys to Bradley’s success and passion in the stories that you hear.”
The national OLLI program began in 1994 and has since increased in membership, according to Thaxton.
In 2008, they changed the name from Institute of Learning and Retirement to OLLI because they received a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation.
The Bernard Osher Foundation has doubled the endowment of OLLI since its inception.
“The founder [Bernard Osher’s] mission is in making lives better in the later part of our curves,” Thaxton said. “He noticed that there really wasn’t a lot of attention and funding that went to older students and people after retirement. As he progressed in age, he saw what a huge difference involvement in something like an OLLI can have.”
Bradley OLLI puts out quarterly brochures that are mailed to about 7,000 people in the Peoria area, according to Riggio.
“Basically, our biggest form of advertising is word of mouth,” Riggio said. “People can register every quarter for all sorts of events.”
For more information, readers can visit www.bradley.edu/olli/.
