The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) will celebrate 30 years of educational exploration on Thursday, Aug. 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the UAH Conference Training Center. Registration deadline is Thursday, July 20.
Huntsville’s own Homer Hickam, best-selling author of “Rocket Boys” and 17 other books, will be the guest speaker. A rocket demonstration by the UAH Propulsion Research Center will follow the buffet lunch and speaker. Aug. 3 is Alabama OLLI Day, so other special guests will include OLLI members from The University of Alabama and Auburn University.
Admission is $30 for OLLI members. For nonmembers, the price is $50, which includes a one-year OLLI membership. OLLI is open to anyone age 50 and up. Register online at osher.uah.edu.
OLLI at UAH will offer more than 60 courses this fall semester on a wide range of topics such as art, history, science, health care and dance. Some are taught at UAH, others involve travel, and a few are virtual. Fall 2023 highlights include “Common Ethics in World Religions,” “Cyber Safety Overview” and “Great Books: Reclaiming Conversation.”
Becoming an OLLI is the biggest milestone in the 30-year history of lifelong learning courses at UAH, says Clay Williams, OLLI at UAH program manager.
“Being a part of the larger OLLI family is a huge thing, not only for the endowment from Osher, but for having the resources of other institutions like ourselves that face the same issues of trying to grow as an organization and to provide good quality service to our members.”
OLLI at UAH began in 1993 as The Academy of Lifelong Learning. The Bernard Osher Foundation asked UAH to join its network in 2005. Osher supports educational programs, arts, and integrative medicine centers. OLLI at UAH is one of 125 institutes across all 50 states.
