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About Us: The Bernard Osher Foundation

The Bernard Osher Foundation was founded by Bernard Osher in 1977. Through the Foundation, Mr. Osher’s philanthropy has benefited a wide range of educational, cultural and other non-profit organizations, primarily in the San Francis Bay Area and his native state of Maine.

Bernard Osher is a successful businessman and community leader, a patron of the arts and education, whose philanthropy has affected countless organizations over the past quarter century. His wife, the Honorable Barbro Osher, Consul General of Sweden in San Francisco, serves as chair of the Foundation.

What began in 1997 as the University of Southern Maine’s Senior College became the nation’s first Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (“OLLI”). The Senior College was renamed in 2001 after receiving a gift from The Bernard Osher Foundation that enabled the program to expand. OLLI was started and developed at USM. OLLI at USM remains an organization run primarily by volunteers who develop the curriculum, staff the office and design OLLI’s extracurricular activities.

The Foundation thereafter began to encourage the development of vibrant learning communities of older adults. New programs offering stimulating learning opportunities were started and a national movement was born. To date, the Foundation has provided support through grants and endowments to over 100 adult lifelong learning programs across the United States.

As of January, 2008, Osher at Carnegie Mellon has received its first grant, has been awarded its second grant and will apply for an endowment in 2008. Osher at Carnegie Mellon gratefully acknowledges the support of The Bernard Osher Foundation in allowing the organization to expand and to continue to develop outstanding educational programs for its members.

For further information about The Bernard Osher Foundation, the website can be found at: www.usm.maine.edu/olli/national/about.jsp.