UD’s Osher Lifelong Learning free mini-class registration open

The University of Delaware’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will offer more than 30 free, online lectures for adults 50 and older over two weeks beginning Tuesday, Jan. 14, via Zoom.

The January Explorations courses presented by OLLI’s volunteer instructors cover topics ranging from art, nature and history to current affairs, travel, literature and healthcare. The Zoom-based courses are free, but registration is required. For the complete list of January Explorations courses and to register, go to olli.udel.edu/january.

Some courses involve a single session, while others comprise two sessions in consecutive weeks. Sessions range in length from one to two hours.

“We are pleased to invite the public to experience, at no cost, examples of the breadth of OLLI’s courses and the excellence of our instructors,” said Karen Asenavage Loptes, OLLI director. “Our spring and fall semester members know that learning is just one part of an enriching OLLI experience that also includes social events, extracurricular activities and travel opportunities.”

Among several health-related courses, How the Brain Ages will explore normal changes that occur over time, how people’s brains compensate and how to minimize the effects of aging. Instructor Michael A. Salvatore was a pulmonology and critical care physician for more than 30 years, and directed a palliative care team for another five years.

Desegregation of Schools: Myth or Reality? is one of several history courses in the January lineup. Longtime public education advocate Bebe Coker will examine the impact of desegregation on public education, housing, employment and community environments, asking whether society genuinely desegregated education, or just school buildings.

For the course Just in Time: Music Across the Years, veteran instructor Tom Powderly will review themes that have inspired songwriters in multiple musical genres over the centuries.

In addition to January Explorations, the OLLI program presents more than 300 five-, 11- and 13-week courses each spring and fall. Classes are held in person in Lewes, Ocean View, Dover and Wilmington; online; and in a hybrid format that gives participants the option of learning in a classroom or at home.

Spring classes will begin Monday, Feb. 3. For more information, go to olli.udel.edu.

In Delaware and across the country, OLLI is affiliated with and receives partial support from the Bernard Osher Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on higher education, lifelong learning and the arts.