The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at University of Alaska Fairbanks (OLLI) is a program of UAF Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning. OLLI provides learning opportunities for adults age 50 and older in the Fairbanks area. Led by its membership, OLLI offers stimulating courses, lectures and special interest groups.
Members explore academic and general interest courses in an atmosphere that is intellectually stimulating, but without the stress of tests and grades. Members from all backgrounds are welcomed. They share the common bonds of intellectual curiosity and the experience of their generation. They are self-motivated learners, eager to share opinions, knowledge, and expertise with humor and mutual respect.
OLLI has received generous financial support from the Bernard Osher Foundation and recognizes the generosity of benefactor Bernard Osher by using the Osher name.
Regular membership costs $35 per year; tuition is $15 per course. Unlimited membership is $185 per year and covers tuition too. Members have 126 courses to choose from during our fall 2017 sessions, in topics such as art, computers, film, languages, health, history, poetry, dance, science and social studies. Many courses focus on Alaska or the Arctic. Some popular courses are repeated (e.g., Intro to iPhone; Bike Maintenance; Self-Hypnosis; Alaska Weather).
A few of the many new offerings this fall are: Fairbanks Sports Histories; Alaskan Wildlife Photography; Dining with Diabetes; Understanding Medical Experiments; The Alchemy of Aging; The Power of Story.
To browse current offerings, go to http://www.uaf.edu/olli and then click on the link to “browse and register for OLLI classes.”
In the fall and winter, we have two lecture series that are free and open to the public: “Professor’s Choice” features current and past UAF researchers and faculty; these free lectures are held on UAF campus on four Monday evenings in the fall. “Winter Lectures” focus on topics related to Alaska or the North more generally and are held on the first Fridays of December, January and February, late afternoons in the Morris Thompson Center downtown.
OLLI’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are clubs organized and run by members. Current SIGs include a book club, hiking, geocaching, poetry, rock hounds and games.
In 2016, OLLI had 781 members, offered 234 separate courses, and had 5017 seats enrolled.
Key dates for fall 2017:
Registration opens (online) Wed., Aug. 23, 9:30 a.m.
Session I classes begin Monday, Sept. 11
Session II classes begin Monday, Oct. 16
