Bernard Osher Foundation Awards $100,000 Grant to CSUH to Establish Osher Lifelong Learning Institute


The Bernard Osher Foundation of San Francisco has awarded a $100,000 grant to California State University, Hayward for the establishment of Scholar, an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program at the university’s Contra Costa Campus, 4700 Ygnacio Valley Road, in Concord.
The grant, renewable by the foundation to CSUH for two additional years at $100,000 per year, will fund the OLLI program to provide educational courses to persons 50 and older. It will help fund the Contra Costa Campus’ SCHOLAR program lecture series, which has been offered to older adults since 2000.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute also will include short courses, discussion and book groups, study circles, leadership development, online learning, lecture series, special events and travel study.

“Our university is committed to addressing issues of aging and the roles that older adults play in a changing society,” said Bette Felton, interim dean of the CSUH Contra Costa Campus. “We greatly appreciate the financial assistance provided by the Osher Foundation and look forward to actively recruiting interested faculty and students.”

The first year of the grant, starting in January, will fund a minimum of 18 classes for the SCHOLAR afternoon lecture program for at least 100 paid student members who are 50 and over. The second year goals will fund a minimum of 25 classes for a SCHOLAR student membership of at least 200, with third year goals the set up of 35 classes for a student membership of 350.

Upcoming classes for the Winter Quarter of the SCHOLAR program that starts on Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. will feature “Boys Who Play Hopscotch: Child’s Play and Gender Definition.” It will be followed by “America and the Middle East After 9/11” on Feb. 12 and “The Grammarian’s Funeral and the Erotics of Grammar” on March 12.

Past SCHOLAR program class topics have included “The Geography of the California Wine Country,” “Planning for Health After 50,” and “Writing and Marketing Mystery Novels.”

The Bernard Osher Foundation, established by Osher in 1977, seeks to improve the quality of life for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area through programs in the arts and humanities and in K-12, post-secondary, and environmental education. Bernard Osher is a businessman and community leader whose philanthropy has benefited Bay Area organizations and the people they serve for more than two decades.

Media Contact: Barry Zepel, Office of Public Affairs (510) 885-3884