Santa Clara University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Receives $1 Million Gift

Business Wire, July 28, 2008

Institute Provides Educational Experiences for Adults Throughout the Bay Area

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Santa Clara University is the recipient of a $1 million endowment gift from The Bernard Osher Foundation. The gift will support the program's commitment to providing opportunities at Santa Clara University for adult learners to engage in conversations with scholars; to enrich their intellectual, personal and social lives; and to enjoy the academic environment without the pressure of tests or grades.

In the award letter to Santa Clara's OLLI, Osher Foundation President, Mary Bitterman, recognized OLLI as making "outstanding" progress since the Foundation's initial gift and the start of the program at Santa Clara in 2004. In addition to the endowment gift, the Foundation approved a $50,000 bridge grant.

"I am very pleased that with this grant, the Osher Foundation has recognized the excellence of our curriculum, the quality of our faculty, and the value of our program to adults age 50 and better. None of this would have been possible without our tremendous volunteer corps and truly inspired leadership. It is this dynamic collaboration which has set the bar for this important program," said Atom Yee, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

OLLI at Santa Clara has grown from a program offering seven classes for 132 members in 2004 to offering more than 40 courses with an expected enrollment of 750 members in the 2008-09 academic year. This year marks the fifth of OLLI at Santa Clara, with a fall course calendar including classes such as "History of the Crusades," "Shia Islam," "Re-examining 1968," and "The Armchair Traveler goes into Orbit! The Universe." Courses are taught by university scholars. Learn more about OLLI at Santa Clara University.

The Osher Foundation

The Bernard Osher Foundation was founded in 1977 by Bernard Osher, a respected businessman and community leader. The Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life through support for higher education and the arts. In addition to supporting a growing network of lifelong learning institutes located at 121 colleges and universities across the country, the Foundation provides grants to selected institutions of higher education for postsecondary scholarships, with a current emphasis on meeting the needs of reentry and community college students. An array of performing arts organizations, museums, and selected educational programs in Northern California and in Mr. Osher's native state of Maine also receive Foundation support. The Bernard Osher Foundation is chaired by the Honorable Barbro Osher, Consul General of Sweden in San Francisco.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 8,685 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.