OLLI

OLLI is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Cincinnati, and it is just the type of learning experience that I have missed for the past decade. The "lifelong learning" aspect refers to low-cost courses for "mature learners." You have only to be 50 years or older; and a payment of just $85 per academic year quarter allows you to take as many OLLI courses as you can handle. Of course there are no tests or grades.  Two of my sisters had mentioned OLLI courses to me, and I am very glad that one morning in Spain this spring I woke up early and happened to remember to check out OLLI. I was one of the 250 people who successfully got in to the summer session--they stopped registration at that number for lack of more space.

The summer program is an even better bargain than the regular academic year program. I registered online and paid my fee--a paltry $10--which entitles me to attend any one or all of seven weekly lectures on various topics. Last Wednesday morning was a talk by a representative of the Cincinnati FBI Field Office. I learned more about the history of the FBI, founded in 1908, than I had ever thought about, and developed an appreciation of its missions and ethics.  The room was packed so tightly that they had to refuse admission to some late-comers, to comply with fire regulations.

The week before--my very first OLLI event ever--the speaker was the executive director of the incipient Museum of the Voice of America radio broadcasting service. Voice of America--not to be confused with Radio Free Europe--is an independent broadcast service founded in 1944 to provide unbiased news and entertainment programming to countries around the world. Although there were transmission sites on the east and west coasts of the U.S., the third site, northwest of Cincinnati, was felt to be the most secure during its wartime beginnings. In addition to learning something about the Voice of America, which is still broadcasting today, though not from the Cincinnati Tylersville Road site. I learned a lot about Cincinnati's illustrious broadcasting history, starting with Powel Crosley, the Crosley Broadcasting Company, and the WLW group.

This coming week I look forward to an executive producer of 20 full-length documentary videos, who will speak about his love affair with history. I suspect I will learn something about the profession of history as he has practiced it, and a great deal about the history of Cincinnati, for he has also written several books about the city. The following week features a vice president and editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer, on "Your Newspaper's Future," a topic I have followed since I first started writing about newspapers in the early 1970s.

In addition to enjoying the lectures, I have enjoyed informal face-to-face conversations with several people prior to each lecture. Everyone is very forthcoming and welcoming. One even called me last week after the session, because she hadn't seen me in the crowded room during the FBI talk. I had looked for her, too, and missed her. And remembering that some people were shut out of the room last week, I will make sure I arrive early for the session this week.