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Framing Kali Lightfoot's The Diversity Dilemma: OLLIs, Outreach, and the Underserved

When OSHER Lifelong Learning Institutes (OLLIs) began to spring up on college campuses in the early part of the decade, they were seen as a place where adults over the age of 50 could come together and learn by developing their own curricula to meet their varied interests and needs. Today, with 119 member-run OLLIs spread across 48 states and boasting a total membership of about 70,000, that vision is being realized. Yet of those 70,000 members, most are white, financially comfortable, and college-educated. How can a member-driven organization reach out to the older adults from different ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds?

Kali Lightfoot, executive director of the National Resource Center for OLLIs, looks at the challenges of diversifying OLLI programs and recommends strategies to include the broader community.

We'd like to hear your point of view as well! When you finish reading the essay, please click on the "post your comments on older adult diversification in the classroom!" link to add to the discussion!

What obstacles to diversity have you observed in your own programs? What strategies have you developed to overcome them?

Read The Diversity Dilemma: OLLIs, Outreach, and the Underserved.

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E-mail: reinvestinginthethirdage@ace.nche.edu
This page last updated: 01/30/2009