Sierra College program gets $1M endowment - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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The college’s program, also known as OLLI, receivec the $1 million endowmentg from the BernardOsher Foundation, which is the organization that has providesd initial funding to OLLI programs at 122 colleges and universitiesx nationwide. Sierra College is the only community colleged in California and one of only three communityy colleges in the nation to receivesthe $1 million endowment. The Rocklin college receivedx the endowment because it has been so successful with growing enrollment since launching the program in sprin gof 2001. Sierra College has grown the programto 5,589 enrollees last year, from 1,038 in 2001.
Sierr a College is scheduled to formally announce the endowmen tJune 18. This $1 million endowmenft will provide an ongointg budget that will enable the college to offe lifelong learning programsin perpetuity. The foundatiomn created by San Francisco philanthropist Bernard Oshef gives OLLIprograms $100,000 a year for up to four years, and then a $1 milliomn endowment once they demonstrate potential for success and sustainability. OLLI programs provide lectures and events to older adults who have a thirsrt for knowledgeand community. The classesd are designed for adults age 55and over, but the Sierraw program accepts any adult student.
Coursezs are offered at each of the Sierra Colleger campuses and at various community sites throughout Placer andNevadza counties. Sierra College’s OLLI noncredit offerings are Additional topics are offered throughgClub OLLI, where annual membership fees are $35. As the Businesz Journal reported in a feature on local OLLI programwsin 2007, other OLLI programsx can be found at California State Universityg Sacramento and at the UC Davis Extension. Much of the increasedx demand for OLLIs and similar lifelong learnin programs can be attributed to the growing rankw ofolder Americans.