UC Irvine Extension's Osher Lifetime Learning Institute Program Receives $1 Million Endowment; Bernard Osher Foundation Awards Program for Dedication to Older Adult Education.

IRVINE, Calif. -- Osher Lifelong Learning Institute - UC Irvine (OLLI) has been awarded a $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation. The annual funding from the endowment will enable OLLI to expand course offerings, provide additional outreach to underserved seniors and to embark on fundraising to establish a permanent home at UCI. OLLI at UCI is a learning community for retired and semi-retired people who enjoy a challenge and are committed to life-long learning. Members have a love of knowledge and desire to pursue intellectual and educational stimulation.

"We are overjoyed to receive this large endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation," said Catherine Follett, president of OLLI at UC Irvine Extension. "We are now posed to leap into the next phase of development. These improvements will give our students a richer and fuller learning experience."

More than nine years ago, UC Irvine Extension was presented with the idea of forming an organization for retired senior citizens interested in furthering their education. From that meeting, the Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) was launched. The group originally started with 200 members and currently has more than 750 members. After several successful years, ALL approached the Bernard Osher Foundation with a grant proposal to expand their program and provide more sustainable operations. Upon receiving the first $100,000 grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation, they changed their name to Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UCI.

"UC Irvine Extension has always provided opportunities for community members who enjoy learning," said Gary Matkin, Dean of UC Irvine Extension. "We truly value the students in OLLI and their ongoing love of knowledge. OLLI is a vital, growing, exciting group of life-long learners who have become community ambassadors for the University of California Irvine."

Since its inception, OLLI has become an integral part of the University of California, Irvine, most importantly in their outreach to the community. It offers the growing senior population in South Orange County a place to gather in a common pursuit of learning and intellectual stimulation. The UCI Medical Center has turned to OLLI to provide geriatric patient experience for their interns and residents and OLLI supported a successful NSF grant application for research funding in the Chemistry Department.

OLLI has an annual membership fee of $100 which allows members to participate in any of the more than 130 classes offered each year. The year is organized into two semester terms; the first runs from September to January; the second, from February through May. All classes are taught by volunteers that include UCI professors, instructors from other local universities and colleges, emeriti, outside professionals and qualified OLLI peers. OLLI is dedicated to keeping the core of their organization volunteer. For more information about the OLLI program, visit http://unex.uci.edu/community/olli/ or call Harriet Whitmyer at 949-824-8316.

About Bernard Osher Foundation: The Bernard Osher Foundation was founded in 1977 by Bernard Osher, a successful businessman and community leader. The Foundation supports a national network of life-long learning institutes on 73 university campuses from Maine to Hawaii. The Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for residents of California's San Francisco and Alameda Counties and the State of Maine through post-secondary student scholarships and arts, cultural, and educational grants. In addition, they assist selected programs in integrative medicine in the United States and Sweden. For more information visit http://www.osherfoundation.org.

About UC Irvine Extension: As the continuing education arm of UCI, UC Irvine Extension is dedicated to providing a university-level learning experience for students, offering thousands of exciting courses and programs to local, regional, and global constituencies. UC Irvine Extension offers a rich array of academic and community programs to support a diverse audience, from a wide selection of academic programs to numerous campus activities. For more information, please visit www.extension.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.