If You Have a Passion for Teaching…

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is an organization for seasoned adults. Our curriculum committee develops courses for our members to take just for the fun of learning. We are currently working on classes for the upcoming semester.  A class topic can cover areas in Art, Architecture, Computer, Technology, Social Media, Food/Beverages, Government, Politics, Economics, Health and Wellbeing, Geography, History, Leisure and Recreation, Literature, Philosophy, Religion, Science and Nature, Space and Planetary, Special Interest, Theatre, Film, Music and Hikes

If you are an expert in your field or an avid enthusiast who is passionate about your hobby we would love for you to consider conducting a course on any of these areas of interest for our members. Our past instructors have included professors, lecturers, emeritus faculty, graduate students, business owners and avid hobbyists, all with great success.

A little about this organization. OLLI is a volunteer, peer-led organization for adults who want to continue learning just for the love of learning.  Our instructors have left the class stating it is like no other teaching experience. Our participants are engaged, eager listeners, who love to ask questions and learn about new and exciting aspects. Our semesters run closely with the UA schedule. We hold the majority of our classes at the Uptown-West campus or at Drake Airfield but are open to other locations. Our class size averages approximately 15 but we have had as many as 50+ in a class (special events have had up to 100 attendees).  Our classes are one-session (app 2 – 3 hours) or multiple sessions (2-5 days over a span of weeks—each 2 – 3 hours long).

We do offer compensation to our instructors at $25 per instructional hour (though many of them donate their time to the organization or exchange it for community service hours if they are seeking tenure).  Some of the professors who have taught classes for us include: Chal Ragsdale (MUSC); Joe Candido (ENGL); Steve Sheppard (LAW); Greg Salamo (PHYS); Hoyt Purvis (JOUR); Joel Gordon (HIST); Jeannie Whayne (HIST); Tom Paradise (GEOS); Kathy Deck (WCOB); Karen Sebold (PLSC) and Fiona Davidson (GEOS). Our graduate student instructors include Ashley Robinson, Caitlin Ahrens (PHYS), Liz Brandt (ANTH), Adam Carson (HIST) and Bianca Rowlett (HIST).

To gain more insight you can visit our website at www.olli.uark.edu

We would greatly appreciate if you would consider instructing a class. Our fall semester runs from around the second full week of September through the second week of December. Our spring semester starts around the second full week of February and runs through the end of May.

If you are interested, would like more information or have any questions, please feel free to contact the OLLI office at 479-575-4545 or via email at olli@uark.edu.  We look forward to hearing from you.