The OLLI@UGA program, which offers noncredit continuing education classes for adults age 50 and older, is expanding its curriculum to offer classes in the evening and on Saturdays. This will enable university faculty and staff members to take some classes they would not have been able to attend due to work obligations.
Until now, OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) classes have been held on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Starting with the opening of OLLI’s spring semester on Feb. 3, nine classes will be held in the evening of weekdays and eight will be held on Saturdays. Some evening classes will begin as early as 4 p.m. with most starting at 5 or 6 p.m.
Times for Saturday classes vary also.
Evening and Saturday classes have been added in response to requests from OLLI members for more flexibility in class scheduling. But Tim Meehan, OLLI executive director, said the expansion should also benefit university employees who want to take classes.
The OLLI program is housed in the College of Education’s River’s Crossing building, and its staff members are university employees, Meehan said. Many OLLI instructors are active or retired faculty members or alumni.
“OLLI@UGA is an important part of UGA’s academic matrix,” said Meehan. “We value faculty and staff colleagues and want them to have access to our classes and other activities. We hope many employees will take advantage of this expansion of our curriculum.”
Topics for some of the evening classes include foot health, reminiscences of performing in a symphony orchestra, serving as a juror for a mock trial, beginning and intermediate Spanish and the impact of food on Southern culture.
Saturday offerings include tours of the Beech Haven and Tallassee Forest preserves, a visit to a furniture studio and classes on watercolor painting, critical reading, Verdi’s opera Othello, Aleutian volcanoes and Latinos in Athens.
OLLI@UGA is one of 124 programs around the country sponsored by the California-based Bernard Osher Foundation that provide educational, social and recreational opportunities to people ages 50 and older.
The evening and Saturday classes are among more than 260 classes in the OLLI@UGA spring semester curriculum.
In addition, OLLI@UGA has more than 30 special interest groups as well as travel-study trips and social events.
Membership in OLLI@UGA is required to register for all OLLI classes and participate in all activities.
The registration process for the evening and Saturday classes is the same as for all classes, and registration will remain open through the spring semester or until a class quota is met.
For details on becoming a member and to view the entire list of spring semester classes, go to olli.uga.edu.