Bernard Osher Foundation Makes Second $1 Million Endowment to Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Bernard Osher Foundation, founded in 1977 by San Francisco business and community leader Bernard Osher to improve the quality of life through support for higher education and the arts, has made a second $1 million endowment to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (OLLI-RU).

OLLI-RU offers a range of noncredit, continuing education courses to New Jerseyans over 50 years of age. Previous Osher grants have enabled OLLI-RU to increase the number of courses offered at its locations in Highland Park at the Reformed Church, 23 S. Second Avenue, and the Municipal Court House, 221 S. Fifth Avenue, as well as in Freehold at the Western Monmouth Education Center, 3680 Route 9 S. Most facilities are handicapped accessible with free on-site or street parking.

“We are delighted to be recognized by the Osher Foundation for the growth and scope of our program,” said Marvin Schlaffer, the institute’s director. “We reach an important constituency for Rutgers: state residents older than 50 who want to continue their learning experience and share knowledge with a group of their peers.”

At its inception in 1993, the program (originally named the Rutgers University Academy for Lifelong Learning) offered four courses for 80 students. This fall, active or retired instructors from high schools, colleges and universities, including Rutgers, taught 1,150 students enrolled in 85 courses and seminars. There are no grades or tests, and a college degree is not required to enroll.

Registration for OLLI-RU’s Winter Session, Jan. 7 to Feb. 5, 2009, will continue through Dec. 19, and each course carries a $30 fee. Classes meet weekly in such areas as archeology, art, economics, film studies, health care, history, jazz and Shakespeare.

To register or to receive a brochure, call 732-932-7233; write OLLI-RU, 55 Commercial Avenue, Suite 201, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; or visit http://olliru.rutgers.edu. Rutgers is one of about 120 U.S. colleges and universities to receive funding from the Osher Foundation. Founder Bernard Osher’s wife, the Honorable Barbro (correct) Osher, consul general of Sweden in San Francisco, serves as chair of the foundation.      

OLLI-RU is a unit of Rutgers’ Division of Continuous Education and Outreach. It is one of many programs that reflect Rutgers’ dedication to helping the state’s residents attain their lifelong learning and professional educational goals.