OSHER GRANT

The University of Connecticut-Waterbury will celebrate the start of its new program for adult learners with the screening of a film celebrating the lives of an extraordinary group of performers. The inaugural event for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Connecticut will be the Connecticut premier of the ground-breaking documentary “Been Rich All My Life”  at 1 p.m. on Oct. 20, in the Multipurpose Room (113-119) of the East Main Street campus. This inspirational film weaves the stories of five former 1930s showgirls who reunited in the 1980s and performed together for another two decades.

   The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer session with filmmaker Heather Lyn MacDonald and several of the women featured in the film, and a reception.  Attendees will be given an opportunity to share programming ideas and register as possible volunteers or instructors in the program. Honored guests will include Gerri Kennedy, manager of Silver Belles, and some of the “Belles” , who are now in their 80s and 90s and are still teaching dance to others. The event is free and open to the public.

   The event will introduce the community to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Connecticut, which will offer noncredit courses geared toward retired or semi-retired area residents ages 50 and over. Unlike continuing education programs for adults completing degrees or improving their career skills, Osher classes are for older students interested in learning for the joy of it, without homework or examinations. Another program goal is to continue to carry out the vision of a downtown Waterbury campus that serves many constituent groups.   

   The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Connecticut is supported by a $100,000 grant from the prestigious San Francisco-based Osher Foundation. This is the first Osher grant of its kind in Connecticut; the UCONN Waterbury campus was selected among other colleges and universities through a nationally competitive proposal process. The Leever Foundation, founded by Harold Leever in 1991 to benefit Greater Waterbury, provided $16,785 in initial funding to bring the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute to the area.   

   Connecticut Community Foundation, which administers The Leever Foundation, oversaw an assessment to determine interest in the region and helped establish advisory committees of area residents. The Community Foundation, a Waterbury-based philanthropic organization serving a 21-town region, is providing ongoing community relations support for the program.  The involvement of all these organizations makes this a partnership on a national, state, and regional/local scale.

   The Waterbury program will eventually include classes in a array of possible areas such as Arts, Business, Culture, Healthcare, History, and Literature.  In addition to courses at the UConn campus, the Osher Institute will also include programs in Southbury.

Back