A group of 25 OLLI members from Saginaw Valley State University meet with U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, left, on their recent 5-day trip to Washington.
OLLI Members Tour Washington, Meet with Senator Stabenow, Near 10th Year
Organization Plans 22 Classes, 5 Trips this Summer, Including Leland Event
May 19, 2010
By: Dave Rogers
Want to go to Stratford, Ontario, Canada to see an outdoor dramatic production?
Well, you're probably too late to sign up for the Osher Lifelong Learning Center's (OLLI) trip June 29-30 since only a few seats remained recently.
But the Saginaw Valley State University-based OLLI has 22 classes and five trips scheduled this summer and catalogs are due out soon to select your choice of activity.
Among them are the Leland Wine & Food Festival June 12, with a stop in Cadillac at the much-touted Hermann's European Cafe for an Italian buffet on the way home.
OLLI will celebrate its 10th anniversary soon, as Advisory Board Chairperson Bob Enzer says "as a major force in mid-Michigan."
Barbara Mitchell, (RIGHT) former Bay City Public Schools teacher, will become the new chair as the organization forges into its second decade with 1,300 members.
Barbara Mitchell, local educator, is new president of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Saginaw Valley State University.
The organization offers about 200 non-credit courses and programs each year.
The June 9 monthly meeting will feature Joe Rogers of the Wildlife Recovery Association (WRA) presenting "Birds of Prey." the meeting gets underway at 8:45 a.m. with registration and a continental breakfast.
Rogers will have a few of his birds at the meeting. The WRA works with raptors from any part of Michigan that need rehabilitation, does research on peregrine falcon reintroduction and has a raptor nest box project.
There will be no July meeting but the Aug. 4 meeting will feature Renaissance Music and Instruments with Eric Nisula, Dee Dee Tibbits and other musicians. The 10th annual Fall Kick-Off is slated Sept. 15.
The SVSU-OLLI program was established in September 2001. Members generally come from Saginaw, Bay and Midland Counties, as well as members from the Thumb and north of Bay County.
The original name was the SVSU Institute for Learning in Retirement, changed in 2005 to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) after receiving a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation.
More than 120 schools in the nation are supported by this foundation. "We are proud that we were the first school in the State of Michigan to receive this designation," said Jo Brownlie of the SVSU Center for Business and Economic Development staff and OLLI director.
In the past eight years, OLLI has offered hundreds of classes on such diverse topics as stem cell research to fly fishing. Class leaders are local college faculty or group members.
Contact information for OLLI is 989-964-4475, 989-695-5325, ext. 4475 from Midland, www.svsu.edu/olli on the web or olli@svsu.edu e-mail.
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