Building on its national reputation as a leader in lifelong learning, the University of Delaware’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) has launched a program to bring the passion and expertise of UD’s graduate students and postdocs to more than 2,200 OLLI members across the state.

The OLLI Scholars Program offers them a $1,100 stipend and individual mentoring to design and teach a five-week course in their area of interest. Each session will run for 75 minutes and be held once a week at any of the University of Delaware OLLI locations. Courses can be delivered in person, online or in a hybrid format, with a preference given to in-person classes.

“The Osher NRC [National Resource Center] at Northwestern University recognizes our OLLI as a ‘benchmark program’ among the 125 OLLI programs across the U.S.,” explained Becky Worley, a retired UD faculty member in the Department of English who established UD’s internship program in professional writing. “Our members are interested, experienced and engaged students, an ideal audience really, so we believe this will be a win for everyone. The instructors will get experience teaching subjects they love, and our members will learn course topics we might not otherwise offer from people who are passionate about their subjects.”

Worley will provide mentorship for OLLI Scholars along with Robert Hampel, professor emeritus in the School of Education at UD and award-winning historian of education. This new program will be only the third of its kind in the national OLLI landscape.

Interested graduate students and postdocs should apply to the program by May 15. To learn more about the OLLI Scholars Program and to apply, visit the Graduate College website.