USM91吃瓜网 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Offers Something for Everyone
Wed, 10/25/2023 - 09:30am | By: Van Arnold
Paula Mathis, OLLI Director
91吃瓜网淏right, creative, energetic, and just plain fun to be around.91吃瓜网� Such are the descriptions Paula Mathis uses to characterize members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at 91吃瓜网 (USM).
Mathis has served as OLLI Director for the past five years after working in the USM Honors College for nearly 20 years. Saying Mathis enjoys her job is a little like saying Taylor Swift enjoys touring. Her favorite slogan these days encapsulates the affection Mathis feels for the unique organization: 91吃瓜网淕ood Golly, What91吃瓜网 OLLI?!
91吃瓜网淚 wish I could claim credit for it, but that goes to OLLI member-volunteer Jim Siders,91吃瓜网� said Mathis. 91吃瓜网淥LLI is an extraordinary, thriving community of lifelong learners. Members are active adults who share a love of learning. They treasure innovative and enriching programs at affordable prices in an inclusive environment with others who share their wide-ranging interests.91吃瓜网�
The USM OLLI is one of 125 across the country and remains the only lifelong learning institute in Mississippi supported by The Bernard Osher Foundation. Mathis points out that OLLI is member-led, member-driven with an advisory board and standing committees enabling members to participate fully in the organization and provide direction to the institute.
Mathis beams when explaining the subtle benefits of OLLI membership. 91吃瓜网淥LLI members learn for the sheer joy of learning 91吃瓜网� no tests or grades,91吃瓜网� she said. 91吃瓜网淚t provides opportunities for members to learn, exercise, travel, develop meaningful friendships, discover new interests and passions, and much more.91吃瓜网�
OLLI91吃瓜网 origin at USM can be traced to early 1991 when Sue Pace, then Director of Continuing Education, submitted a formal concept paper to then-President Aubrey K. Lucas proposing the formation of an Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR). Pace was aware of an ILR movement around the nation, with its community-based programs. She felt strongly that such an institute could be developed within the Hattiesburg community in partnership with USM.
Approximately 130 people attended an organizational meeting in May 1991 to establish the Institute for Learning in Retirement. Beginning in fall 2005, the Bernard Osher Foundation provided the institute with $100,000 annually, through 2007. At this point, the ILR became the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
After meeting requirements of the Osher Foundation, OLLI was awarded a $1 million endowment and an additional $50,000 bridge grant to provide support until earnings from the endowment became available. In January 2015, OLLI expanded its outreach and implemented a second institute on USM91吃瓜网 Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, Miss.
Once upon a time, OLLI billed itself as a continuing education program for adults 50-and-older. Though some literature still exists with that parameter, Mathis insists the age factor is not really a factor at all.
91吃瓜网淚n the past I would have called OLLI a thriving community of lifelong learners in the 50-plus age group,91吃瓜网� said Mathis. 91吃瓜网淗owever, we don91吃瓜网檛 card folks who want to join, and we don91吃瓜网檛 discriminate. We won91吃瓜网檛 tell if you91吃瓜网檙e not yet 50.91吃瓜网�
The USM OLLI staff includes Mathis and two program coordinators 91吃瓜网� Tay Baucum in Hattiesburg and Maryann Herodes in Long Beach. OLLI member-volunteers help to power the organization.
The current combined membership from both campuses is approximately 715. Courses are offered in a variety of subjects, including: Arts, Health and Fitness, Humanities, Language and Literature, Personal Enrichment, Nature, Science and Technology to name a few.
Mathis and her team rely on USM faculty and staff to assist with course instruction as well as many Honors College graduates who seize the opportunity to give back to the University. Current OLLI members also teach classes.
91吃瓜网淭he number of 91吃瓜网 faculty and staff who teach at OLLI is most encouraging,91吃瓜网� said Mathis. 91吃瓜网淚t demonstrates their commitment to community engagement and lifelong learning. The support of the 91吃瓜网 administration, faculty, and staff means a great deal to us.91吃瓜网�
The OLLI experience is not just relegated to classrooms, power points presentations and exercise classes. Each fall the institute offers a domestic travel opportunity, followed by an international adventure every spring. Approximately 30 members (maximum capacity) have signed up for a cruise to Belgium and Holland scheduled for spring 2024.
OLLI classes and related programming are held at the Peck House, a stately mid-20th Century home located at the corner of Pearl Street and 37th Avenue in Hattiesburg. Built by oil exploration and distribution entrepreneur Carl Peck, the house boasts Italian marble, art deco fixtures, Waverly wallpaper and what is believed to be the first electric garage door in the southeastern United States. The Peck family donated the home and grounds to the University in 1989.
Hattiesburg resident Gwen Mason became an OLLI member three years ago when her sister retired and moved to the area.
91吃瓜网淲e saw OLLI as the perfect vehicle to cruise life91吃瓜网 learning highway at our own pace and explore different areas of interest,91吃瓜网� said Mason. 91吃瓜网淭he opportunities to interact with other active adults in fun, friendly, and intellectually stimulating environments are what I most like about OLLI and its offerings.91吃瓜网�
Mason counts among her more memorable OLLI experiences:
- 91吃瓜网淢obile Street History,91吃瓜网� a five-week class led by Deborah Delgado outlining the history of Mobile Street during its heyday, including prominent trailblazers, the thoroughfare91吃瓜网 demise and efforts to restore the area.
- 91吃瓜网淲hen Evil Lived in Laurel,91吃瓜网� a book written by Curtis Wilkie with a review/presentation by local businessman Mike Landrum. The book provides an account of the murder of Vernon Dahmer along with related Civil Rights activity in Mississippi.
- Trips to New Orleans for the 91吃瓜网淰an Gogh Immersive Experience,91吃瓜网� to the Mississippi Book Festival in Jackson, and to Mohawk Steel and Glass Blowing in the Oak Grove community.
No one need try to sell Dallas Gorbett on the rewards from OLLI participation. A member for nearly 14 years, Gorbett strayed outside his comfort zone to give OLLI a try.
91吃瓜网淚 am not naturally a 91吃瓜网榡oiner,91吃瓜网� but joining OLLI is the best thing I91吃瓜网檝e done,91吃瓜网� said Gorbett. 91吃瓜网淭he classes are great. The trips are stress-free. But the best part 91吃瓜网� which wasn91吃瓜网檛 on my radar when I joined 91吃瓜网� is the feeling of community, both inside and outside the Peck House. You see friends at non-OLLI events, and it makes that event even better.91吃瓜网�
Dr. Doug Masterson, Senior Associate Provost and Professor of Institutional Effectiveness at USM, gives immense credit to Mathis for the institute91吃瓜网 continuing growth and popularity.
91吃瓜网淚 have known Paula for many years, and I know for a fact you won91吃瓜网檛 find anyone more passionate about their work,91吃瓜网� said Masterson. 91吃瓜网淪he has worked to bring OLLI to the forefront of our community service efforts and has built a strong membership base for OLLI.91吃瓜网�
He added, 91吃瓜网淯SM and our community are very fortunate to have the only OLLI in the State of Mississippi. OLLI is a true gem and provides numerous opportunities for USM faculty and staff to interface with our community neighbors and friends and contribute to their lifelong learning interests.91吃瓜网�
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, OLLI began offering online learning opportunities for members in the summer of that year. Today, many classes are delivered via Zoom, which has allowed the institute to extend its reach throughout Mississippi to residents who live in rural parts of the state with limited access to OLLI91吃瓜网 programming. Mathis said plans call for expansion of online programming as well as more in-person classes throughout the state.
OLLI is more than a location; more than a place for older adults to congregate; more than a concept. OLLI brings the idea of healthy, successful aging to life.
91吃瓜网淲hether a budding artist, a two-left-feet dancer, a lover of books, puzzles, games, food, music, or a well-heeled traveler, OLLI has something for everyone to make continued learning fun,91吃瓜网� said Mason.
91吃瓜网淕ood Golly, OLLI!91吃瓜网� Indeed.