OLLI@Coastal is proud to be one of the 125 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes. The Bernard Osher Foundation has made generous endowments to support and help establish these lifelong learning institutes at colleges and universities all over the country. The shared goal of these institutes is to provide those who are 50 and better with intellectually stimulating non-credit programming. The Bernard Osher Foundation began expanding its network of institutes from the original Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine in 2002. In just 20 years, the network of has expanded to the 125 institutes and includes 116,599 members nationwide. To fulfill the promise of education to develop the mind and spirit for a lifetime of purpose and human flourishing, OLLI@Coastal offers a variety of noncredit courses from art, music and literature to business, science, history, politics and beyond. We offer seniors opportunities to exercise and dance, to learn languages and crafts. In addition to these courses that are presented in fall, spring, and summer each year, there are clubs and special interest groups as well as lecture series at four convenient locations across the Grand Strand (Conway Campus, North Myrtle Beach, HGTC Market Common, Portside Grande Dunes and Murrells Inlet).
In joining OLLI@Coastal, you not only join that nationwide network of those 50 and better who continuing to learn and grow in community of higher education, but you also join our rich traditional of lifelong learning here at Coastal Carolina University. Coastal Carolina University has had a lifelong learning program since 1987. We officially established our Osher Institute of Lifelong Learning at Coastal Carolina University in 2007 through our first $100,000 grant from the Osher Foundation. We received further support in 2009 and 2011 from the Osher Foundation. In 2013, the Osher Foundation’s $1 million endowment to Coastal Carolina University plus a $50,000 grant made it possible to transition the program to utilize the interest-only revenue for operational purposes. With the University’s commitment to provide space and support and the initiation of a fundraising strategy to ensure the future sustainability of our OLLI@Coastal, we received a $50,000 operating grant in June 2014 and a rare second million-dollar endowment in 2016.
