About the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UW-Madison
Our Mission
The mission of UW OLLI is to nurture a dynamic community of lifelong learners by mobilizing the talents of its members and the resources of UW-Madison and the greater community to offer enrichment opportunities for mature adults.
| Staff | |
|---|---|
| Wendy Kerr, program associate | Sarah Schutt, director |
| 608-262-5823 | 608-262-5699 |
| wkerr@dcs.wisc.edu | sschutt@dcs.wisc.edu |
History
UW OLLI began in July, 2005, when an initial grant of $100,000 was received from the Bernard Osher Foundation to start a lifelong learning program for mature adults that would draw upon the resources of UW-Madison. During its first two years, UW OLLI operated through a partnership between the Division of Continuing Studies and the Wisconsin Alumni Association. In 2007, UW OLLI became an entity of Continuing Studies and began moving toward more formal collaboration with the Participatory Learning And Teaching Organization (PLATO), a peer-led, “learning in retirement” group that the Division has supported since its inception in 1977.
In January, 2008, a collaborative agreement was signed between PLATO and Continuing Studies, and a second grant of $100,000 was awarded from the Osher Foundation. In the summer of 2009, PLATO affirmed its identity and independent status by becoming a 501c7 organization, yet also agreed to deepen the collaboration with Continuing Studies and UW OLLI by operating as “PLATO, a program of OLLI.” The fruits of this collaboration were realized when the third grant of $100,000 was awarded, and an invitation extended by the Osher Foundation for UW OLLI to apply for permanent endowment.
The criteria for endowment consideration are: strong support from the host university; opportunities for volunteer engagement and leadership; a diverse repertoire of intellectually stimulating courses and activities; a membership level exceeding 500 individuals annually; and evidence of financial sustainability. We are proud to be considered for endowment, as such support secures the future of senior learning programming at UW-Madison through Continuing Studies. Furthermore, the collaboration between OLLI and PLATO and ensures the continuation and expansion of excellent programming for 50+ adults in the greater Madison area.
Currently, there are 120 OLLIs in 49 states, all affiliated with institutions of higher education. Here in Wisconsin, UW-Milwaukee is also home to an OLLI, and our Big Ten neighbors Minnesota, Iowa, Northwestern and Illinois have OLLIs as well. There is an OLLI National Resource Center housed at the University of Southern Maine, which is an excellent connection point for all OLLIs as well as being a source of information about lifelong learning, retirement and aging issues.
About the Osher Foundation
Founded in 1977 and headquartered in San Francisco, the Bernard Osher Foundation is a philanthropic organization that supports higher education and the arts. Post-secondary scholarships are provided to selected institutions nationally, with a recent emphasis on meeting the needs of re-entry students. The Division of Continuing Studies at UW-Madison is a recipient of these scholarship funds, having been permanently endowed in 2008.
The Osher Foundation supports a national network of lifelong learning institutes for seasoned adults located at nearly 120 colleges and universities from Maine to Hawaii and Alaska. The Foundation also funds integrative medicine centers at Harvard University, the University of California–San Francisco, and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Meet the Oshers
Barbro Osher is Consul General of Sweden in San Francisco and also serves as Chairman of the Bernard Osher Foundation and. She is owner and publisher of Vestkusten, the premier Swedish-American newspaper in the United States.
A native of Stockholm, Sweden and a graduate of Stockholm University with a degree in languages and political science, Osher pursued a career in advertising and publishing in Sweden before returning to the United States in the early 1980s.
Barbro Osher is also chair of the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, which supports Swedish-related cultural and educational projects in North America and Sweden.
Bernard Osher, a patron of education and the arts, created the Bernard Osher Foundation in 1977. A native of Biddeford, Maine and a graduate of Bowdoin College, Osher had a successful career in business, beginning with the management of his family’s hardware and plumbing supplies store in Maine and continuing with work at Oppenheimer & Company in New York before moving to California. There he became a founding director of World Savings, one of the largest savings institutions in the United States.
Osher purchased the fine art auction house of Butterfield & Butterfield in 1970 and oversaw its growth to become the fourth largest auction house in the world. In 1999, he sold the company to eBay.
Bernard Osher and his wife, Barbro, conduct their philanthropy through the Bernard Osher Foundation, the Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Fund, and the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
