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The Diversity Dilemma: OLLIs, Outreach, and the Underserved

By Kali Lightfoot

photo by Dan Courter

I would confidently wager that every OLLI in the United States has at some point asked itself the question, "How do we get X, Y, and/or Z to come to our programs?"—XYZ being African Americans, or Asians, or Latinos, or "locals," or people who did not attend college—whatever groups represent diversity in that particular community.

It's no wonder that OLLIs are struggling with this issue. The generations of members leading and attending OLLIs today are the same ones who lived through the social upheavals of the 1950s and 1960s, became sensitized to racism and classism, and retired from careers in which they had to grapple with diversity issues in their workplaces. Layered onto that is the personal belief among participants that staying active, engaged and learning new things is good―an idea supported by research that finds social engagement, physical activity, and intellectual stimulation can actually lessen or at least delay some of the decline in old age.

All of that adds up to a bunch of people having a lot of often life-changing fun at OLLI who want to "share the wealth" of experience with as many people as possible across all ethnic and economic spectrums. But that is a challenging task, for several reasons:

• Just because we think we are friendly and inclusive, doesn't mean we actually are. The old saying "birds of a feather flock together" is true, whether intentionally or not. It takes real effort to truly welcome newcomers into a group and help them feel comfortable.
• It takes a pioneering spirit to be different. To be the only African American, or Asian, or high school graduate sitting in a classroom with a group of people different from you takes guts, especially if that group has been together before and appear to all know each other. That pioneer may also face some well-entrenched, often unconscious, classism or racism in group discussions or even from individuals.
• Marketing is not one-size-fits-all. Outreach that works with members of one socio-economic/ethnic/racial/cultural group may not work with others an OLLI is trying to target. It's important to reach people where they are with language and images that look like where they might want to be.
• The best marketing for OLLI is word of mouth. Friends bring friends. Diversity initiatives and marketing campaigns raise awareness and create buzz, but most people will be motivated to sign up for OLLI because they know people who have had good experiences, or because they meet people who seem like them and who have had good experiences.
• Not everyone wants to pursue more education. There are many people in this country who did not like school or had bad experiences in school. I've stood at senior fairs handing brochures to people who have said to me, "No thanks, I've learned everything I want to know!"

Essentially, I think outreach strategies for lifelong learning institutes need to be based on four main ideas, with the cautionary note that these are four ideas for now. After all, outreach is a work in progress. We will learn from our successes and mistakes and must adapt accordingly.

1. Look inside before looking outside. Is the organization truly ready to be inclusive? I recently sat in on a diversity discussion at an OLLI with one African American in the room. At one point someone turned to her and asked, "Have you brought your friends to OLLI?" She had the guts to say, "Frankly, no. I love the classes and will go anywhere to learn, but a lot of my friends would not be comfortable here. You people are not as inclusive as you think. One day I sat down in class and the woman next to me got up and moved." She also talked about the subtle ways that class discussions could exclude people from backgrounds different from the white, educated, middle-class OLLI majority.

2. Changing the nature of the classes being offered is not the way to go. The people you are targeting are going to want the same learning experiences that you enjoy. There may be some things that you will find appealing to more of the group you are trying to target. For example, in Maine an interesting local history course seems to appeal to the locals, so that is something worth capitalizing on. But that local history course is something we would offer anyway because it is a good and popular course among the "people from away," too.

3. Know that whatever you do, most outreach will happen one participant at a time. You will build slowly. Find out what works and do more of it. Do you need to market differently? Where does the target group hang out? What and who will speak to them? How can you encourage friends to bring friends? Some OLLIs print business cards with the office contact information on them so members have something in their pockets or purses to give out to people they meet. Others have organized "bring a friend" events, or offered a free class session to friends who accompany members.

4. When you run into people who hate school, let them. Lifelong learning is not going to appeal to everyone and you need to make peace with that so that you don't give up on outreach entirely. Achieving true diversity in any organization is very difficult but the struggle is worth it for the richness brought to everyone's lives.

Kali Lightfoot is Executive Director of the National Resource Center for OSHER Lifelong Learning Institutes and Coordinator for the Maine Senior College Network.

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E-mail: reinvestinginthethirdage@ace.nche.edu
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This page last updated: 08/01/2008