Fern Nettleton, a student in the Joyful

Class instructor Kelley Hunt stands up to applaud her students during a performance by a group of seniors enrolled in the Joyful

Kansas University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall. But director Jim Peters hopes the Nov. 14 party at the Lied Center will have a double cause: welcoming the institute’s second $1 million grant.

One of 120 Osher institutes offering university level courses to people older than 50, Kansas University’s is the only one in the Sunflower State.

Osher’s KU institute had 500 members when it received its first $1 million grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation, in 2007. Today, Peters said, Osher will soon eclipse the 3,000-member mark.

“We’ve tripled membership the last three years,” Peters said.

Its reach has also expanded: Osher will offer 72 classes this fall at 32 sites in 18 cities. KU’s Osher Institute has an imprint beyond the northeast Kansas and Kansas City area, providing classes at sites as far as Hutchinson and Washington. In 2010, Peters said, Osher even began offering courses in Manhattan, a rare partnership between KU and Kansas State University.

Membership is among the foundation’s criteria for being considered for a $1 million grant, paid to the university’s endowment. The ability to successfully fundraise is also a requirement. Peters said KU’s Osher Institute raised $25,000 as part of a campaign last fall and plans another this coming fall.

‘Kansas history is the favorite’

Calling it the university’s premier outreach program for seniors, Peters said the average age of Osher students in Kansas is north of 77.

“The way we look at this,” Peters said, “is a lot of members try to enrich their lives in taking courses perhaps they couldn’t take when they were younger. … You’re seeing them taking topics they never had the chance to learn because they were working all the time.”

Courses are typically three two-hour sessions — long enough, Peters said, to drill down without a long-term commitment.

The most popular subject matter?

“It’s very clear: history courses,” he said. “Kansas history is the favorite.”

Both current and former professors — about 120 in all — from KU, Washburn, UMKC and other universities volunteer their time to teach, Peters said.

“We are very blessed,” Peters said.

Peters said professors often clamor to teach Osher courses because of the students who “bring with them 60 to 70 years of life experience and really contribute a lot.”

Peters said instructors often allow students to direct the course of the classes.

“It’s very interactive,” he said. “Most folks are not shy. They ask questions but also challenge assertions.”

’10 and Then’

Peters said much of the institute’s growth in recent years can be attributed to a two-year-old partnership with the KU Alumni Association, whereby the association distributes Osher’s annual course catalogs to its members, who can receive discounts on classes in return.

One out of every eight new members, Peters added, are also alumni association members. He relayed a story, one that often repeats itself, in which he visits a class and asks new faces how they heard about Osher. A catalog in the mail is the most common answer. Many, Peters said, hadn’t heard of Osher before. Catalogs are now also being sent to members of Washburn University and Kansas State’s alumni associations.

Marketing has also played a key role in boosting Osher’s numbers in Kansas. Two years ago, the foundation awarded KU’s institute a grant to recruit and market its programs — with much of that money going into its catalogs, Peters said.

“People have responded to it,” he said. “You’re bound to come across some topics that are of interest to you.”

If Osher’s 10-year anniversary party’s theme is to celebrate a new $1 million grant, Peters said, the use of those funds will go toward more expansion efforts.

“There are plenty of places in Kansas we are not,” Peters said. Peters is eyeing partnerships with Fort Hays State, Pittsburg State and Emporia State. He said he has also met with every community college president in Kansas, each of them expressing interest in Osher.

That’s why he’s calling the November celebration “10 and Then.”

“We’re going to celebrate the last 10 years, but we’re also going to plan the next 10 years,” Peters said.