OLLI at ASU classes engage 'encore generation' in lifelong learning
For 10 years, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Arizona State University has brought low-cost educational and cultural courses and programs to adults ages 50 and over. This fall, with over 90 classes in history, art, music, opera, travel and creative writing, science, current events, literature, geography, religion, physics, space, Shakespeare and more, there is something for everyone.
Fall classes include diverse topics such as The Science of Dog Intelligence; The Morass in the Middle East; Religious Traditions of the World; Artists of the American West; Genetic Disorders and Medical Ethics; Exploring the Masters of Jazz; and a class on the historical use of cadavers in medicine and science called Grave Robbing for Fun and Education.
Theater buffs have the chance to attend a class on the history and development of improvisational and murder mystery theater, followed by a seat in a full-stage production of "Sheer Madness," presented by the Phoenix Theatre.
New this semester, OLLI is offering its first class in Spanish. Escribir Phoenix (or Writing Phoenix) will be held at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus and led by ASU Regents’ Professor David Foster. OLLI is also holding school on Saturdays this fall at the Tempe Public Library, with a class called From Hildegard to Streisand: Perspectives on Women in Music.
“The 50-plus generation is now known as the encore generation,” says Richard Knopf, director of OLLI at ASU. “Never has there been a greater thirst by seniors to explore, chart new destinies, expand horizons and serve others.”
OLLI is part of ASU’s Partnership for Community Development in the School of Community Resources and Development, part of the College of Public Programs. Each fall and spring, OLLI showcases a new lineup of low-cost educational and cultural courses and programs, all without tests, grades or educational requirements.
Registration is now open for fall short courses and lectures that begin in September, October, November and December. Classes are conveniently located in locations throughout the Valley: the ASU West and Downtown Phoenix campuses, Tempe Connections at the Tempe Public Library, Friendship Village Tempe and Maravilla Scottsdale.
OLLI at ASU is funded in part by the Bernard Osher Foundation, which supports university-quality educational offerings for mature students interested in learning for the love of learning. ASU is one of several colleges and universities across the United States to have been awarded a permanent Osher Foundation endowment to sustain and support its programs.
The printed schedule will be available in late August at most public libraries, senior and community centers, and is now online at lifelonglearning.asu.edu. Course registration is available online. Call 602-543-6440 for more information.