91短视频

• April 4, 2016

The classrooms at 91短视频 in Concord are filled with a new generation of students, those returning to the classroom, in most cases, decades after they got their degrees, built their careers and raised their families. This time it is with the intent to discover new subjects and find a community. 

More than 1,000 students, 50 years and older, are enrolled in The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program.

Professor Emeritus Bette Felton, a founder of the program who has been associated with CSUEB as a dean, teacher and administrator for the past 37 years, bursts with pride when discussing the role OLLI plays in the lives of older students.

“I think we’re better learners when we get older,” said Felton, a former public health nurse who also serves on OLLI’s Board of Directors. “These students are not trying to get a good grade or a degree. They’re just trying to understand what is taught. It makes it fun.”

While she cites several reasons why the OLLI curriculum benefits senior citizens — finding new interests during retirement and retaining cognitive skills, among them — perhaps the most overlooked is the real-life experiences that many students share in their classes.

According to Felton, a perfect example is Byron Citron, 84, who enrolled in one of OLLI’s writing classes taught by Elaine Starkman. Citron fought at Iwo Jima during World War II and had never written about his experience. 

“Elaine and the students in the class encouraged him to write about it and he did. He passed away a couple of years ago, but he left such an incredible legacy for his family,” Felton said.

Larry Prudhome, a former professor at UC Davis, offers a course on the Vietnam War. With 70 students, it is one of the more popular classes.

“Larry asked the students if anyone had been in combat in Vietnam and six or seven people raised their hands,” said Felton. “Some were enlisted people, some drafted, some intelligence service. Then he asked how many had partners who were in the war and another 10 or so people raised their hands. It adds so much to the educational experience when you can hear firsthand accounts.”

That same point was illustrated recently with a course focused on former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Felton says among the students in the class was one whose aunt had been Hoover’s secretary. Others shared stories of parents who had been blacklisted during that period of history. 

OLLI students say the program also gives them the opportunity to learn about things they have always been interested in, but didn’t get around to learning more about until now.

Ben Warwick, 84, is a retired attorney from San Leandro who has been taking OLLI courses for about 10 years, ranging from evolutionary biology and the social sciences, to literature and political science. He says the senior program has filled a real void in retirement.

“OLLI has really enriched my life,” Warwick said. “I have other pursuits that are not so cerebral, but this program really challenges me intellectually. I just love the program.”

Fellow student Jan Howe, 68, a retired hospice health nurse for Kaiser Permanente in Hayward, echoed his sentiments. 

“When I was an undergraduate, I was so focused on getting my degree that I didn’t have time to take many of these courses for fun,” Howe said. “We get so much quality information from the faculty, and the students are so well read and have traveled a great deal. It makes for a very exciting environment.”

Howe, who happened to be a student of Felton’s at 91短视频 more than 30 years ago, also appreciates the social aspect of OLLI.

“Beyond learning, we make new friends," he said. "We find that we share many things in common with other students. It just adds to why we look forward to coming to class each week.”

In some form, the adult education program has been operating on 91短视频’s Concord campus for 15 years. Herb Eder, professor emeritus of geography and environmental studies, founded the SCHOLAR program, designed for retirees. 

While Eder spent most of his time recruiting faculty members, it was Felton, then dean of the Concord campus and then-Vice President Jim Kelly who first learned of a possible grant being available from the Bernard Osher Foundation to fund the program. Felton and Kelly wrote a successful application and by 2003, the newly-funded offerings were renamed the SCHOLAR-OLLI program. Two years later, it evolved into the current program called the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at 91短视频. The Concord campus was one of the first 20 colleges to launch the OLLI program. Now there are approximately 120 colleges and universities throughout the country that feature an OLLI program funded by the Bernard Osher Foundation.

CSUEB, which prides itself in offering education to a diverse population, not only casts an even wider net with the OLLI program for seniors, but it also has made these courses financially accessible. It costs just $40 to become a member of OLLI and individual classes range from $48-$60 for four or six sessions.

Felton, who still teaches, believes much of OLLI’s success can be traced to the wide spectrum of instructors, including a high school principal who teams up with a local restaurant owner to teach a culinary program and artistic directors from a local theater group who teach music and opera courses. The program’s success and popularity, she adds, is also directly related to the role the university plays.

“We’re a community," Felton said. “Everyone cares about and encourages each other. Cal State East Bay has been the best partner ever. They have provided us with so much, even staff help, and there is a mutual admiration between the school and the OLLI program.”