Senior University participant Suzuko Hara attends a watercolor workshop.

Senior University Celebrates a Decade of Service

By Anne Ambrose

Nearly every weekday, 92-year-old Otto Ross comes to Cal State Long Beach from his Seal Beach Leisure World home. He’s been doing that for nearly 10 years, thanks to his poker buddy, the late Max Freedland, who told Ross about a CSULB program of classes for older adults.

“Now it’s my home away from home because I look forward to it,” said Ross, a German immigrant and retired Belmont Shore businessman.

A love of learning knows no age limit and contributes to longevity. That philosophy led former College of Health and Human Services Dean Donald Lauda and gerontology Professor Dorothy Fornia to develop the Institute for Learning in Retirement.

They and a group of area seniors organized the program that opened in fall 1996 with 50 members, with Freedland as its first president. Ten years and two name changes later, what is now called the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at CSULB has more than 700 participants. The program is transitioning from Senior University to OLLI in recognition of a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation that supports lifelong learning programs at 73 universities.

“When we get old, our bodies get old, but our minds are still bright and shiny—maybe not as sharp as they were when we were 20 years old, but they’re still functioning,” said program President Harold Drab. “We give people an opportunity to use those minds and study in a vast variety of classes that we have. There’s also a social aspect.”

Classes are open to anyone age 50 and above for an annual membership of $40, plus $10 per lecture class or $45 per computer class. Participants do not need a college degree and there are no course prerequisites or tests. Classes are taught by volunteers including current and emeriti CSULB professors, community instructors and some OLLI members.

OLLI offers four eight-week sessions a year, filling its classroom five days a week from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Drab said. “Probably our most popular classes are in anything related to somewhat controversial subjects like politics. It’s more than just a discussion of what somebody read in the paper,” Drab said. There also are art and activity courses, exercise and health-related classes and even an astronomy club.

Two original board members who still participate are Shirley Collins, the program’s second president; and Sylvia Manheim, a counselor and educator.

The program remains as inclusive and low cost as possible, and offers scholarships for individuals who cannot afford the fees, Collins said. They continue to encourage more underrepresented minority participants, Manheim added.

A former school media specialist, Collins helps coach the program’s highly popular computer classes. An Archstone Foundation grant helped establish a computer lab with 11 workstations—10 for students and an instructor’s computer attached to a projector. Volunteer coaches help the instructor, Collins explained.

But OLLI is more than just classes. Four marriages and numerous friendships have resulted between participants.

“I know a number of people who stated that Senior University saved their lives,” by providing interesting and social experiences, Manheim remarked, “But here, we can do things for the first time that we wished we could have done for years.”

Otto Ross concurs. “For the first time, I’m taking ‘ologies,’ which I’ve never taken before, such as psychology and sociology. I have no idea what I’m getting into. I’m willing to learn anything new,” he said, smiling.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSULB (Senior University) will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a June 10 gala at The Pointe in the Walter Pyramid. Sylvia Manheim’s daughter, actress Camryn Manheim, will be among the guest speakers.

To learn more about OLLI, call 562/985-8237 or visit www.csulb.edu/centers/senior-university.