History compiled by Gifford Blyton, PhD and Linda Brasfield Kuder, PhD (November 1994). Revised by Arleen Johnson, PhD (August, 2007).

History of the UK Academic Fellows

OLLI at UK OLLI membership Application (word document)   Program Information  Lexington Olli at UK Courses Olli at UK Forum Contacts Information: Lanna Neal OLLI at UK Donovan Scholars University of Kentucky Ligon House 658 South Limestone Street Lexington, KY 40506-0442 Phone: 859-257-2656 Morehead OLLI at UK in Morehead Membership Form (word document) Somerset Contacts Information: OLLI at UK University of Kentucky Ligon House 658 South Limestone Lexington, KY 40506-0442 Phone in Lexington: 859-257-2656 Outside Lexington Toll Free: 866-602-5862 History of Life Long Learning

In the late 1950's, Dr. Herman Donovan, then President of the University of Kentucky, dreamt of enriching the lives of older persons. He proposed that colleges and universities, both public and private, opening their doors to persons aged 65 and older, allowing them to register for courses free of cost so that they could pursue their interests in learning as long as they lived. He reasoned that colleges and universities owed their greatness to the work, support, gifts, taxes and votes of people now grown old. Dr. Donovan's dream became reality in 1962 when the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees voted to establish the Council on Aging with Dr. Earl Kaufman of the College of Education as Director. The Council was instructed to develop educational programs for older persons and to conduct research related to aging. In 1964, on the recommendation of then UK President, John Oswald, the Board of Trustees approved the Herman L. Donovan Fellowship for Senior Citizens. The fellowship allowed for the waiver of tuition for scholarship recipients. 16 Donovan Scholars were admitted for the fall semester. The Donovan Scholars ranged in age from 65 to 84. The 65-year-old "freshman" joined 18-year old counterparts for the first time. The only requirement to be a Donovan Scholar was that a person be age 65 or older. There were no requirements regarding previous educational achievements or residency in Kentucky. All courses on the Lexington campus, as well as those in the Community Colleges, were open for older students for audit or for regular credit. It was not long before the Donovan Program gained national attention. In 1966, TIME magazine dubbed the program "Educare", an obvious reference to Medicare which was in the news at the time. Whereas most of the early Donovan Scholars were from the Lexington area, the national publicity resulted in inquiries from every state and many foreign countries. Eight Canadians came to Lexington following a television documentary describing the program. Mrs. Amanda Hicks became the first Donovan Scholar to receive a degree--a BA in education. Since the Donovan program began, 50 Donovan Scholars have received 51 degrees in agriculture, anthropology, art, business and business economics, classics, curriculum and instruction, design, education, educational psychology, English, family and consumer science, family studies, French, general studies, German, history, horticulture, library science, nursing, social work, Spanish, and topical studies. Our oldest currently enrolled Donovan Scholar is 96 years of age. He regularly attends the twice-weekly Forum lecture series. Our oldest academic student is 91 and currently audits classes and is considering switching to a PhD program.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UK

In addition to the growing academic program, special self-enrichment classes in art were offered for Donovan Scholars aged 60 and older, and the first "Writing Workshop for People Over 57" was instituted and was conducted annually for over 35 years. In 1970, the Donovan Forum became an integral part of the program. Since its beginning, the Forum has been held twice weekly as a series of lectures and discussions aimed at the interests of older persons and open to the public. In 1972, a generous endowment fund was established for the Council on Aging by the late Mrs. Marguerite Simpson of Lexington to provide support for a number of special activities and self- enrichment courses to benefit older persons. That same year the Council of Public Higher Education recommended that the University began appropriating funds sufficient to pay tuition costs and departmental registration fees. At the tenth anniversary celebration in 1974, Dr. Earl Kaufman noted, "The traditional role of colleges and universities has been to educate the young so they may became leaders in their chosen fields. Perhaps an even greater role is emerging-- that of educating those who have been leaders in their chosen fields to become leaders in the larger affairs of mankind." As an outgrowth of this view, the Council on s Emeritus Corps was created in 1980 to further coordinate and facilitate volunteer efforts by Donovan as well as other members of the community. In January 2007, UK received a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation that enabled us to add classes for the Lexington area, lower the participation age from 60 to 55 and to extend lifelong learning classes to other sites across Kentucky. In the Lexington, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UK added three new self enrichment classes to the 40 already available. Another change is the $10 administrative fee for all OLLI at UK Donovan classes. This fee will go toward paying instructors and rent for off campus locations. The OLLI at UK in Morehead was established this spring and will offer courses in health and wellness in the fall of 2007. The OLLI at UK in Somerset is being developed with plans to offer courses in the spring of 2008. Future plans will expand the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UK to additional campus sites across Kentucky, building a statewide network of Lifelong Learning programs. The Directors got the Donovan Fellowship and OLLI at UK Donovan Scholars have included Dr. Earl Kaufman (1962-1974), Dr. Cornelius Hager (1974-1979), Mr. Donald Hoffman (1979-1882), Dr. Linda Brasfield Kuder (1982-1988), Mrs. Roberta James (1988-1995), and Dr. Arleen Johnson (1995-present). The history does not stop here. The Donovan Program continues to offer older adults the opportunity to broaden horizons, skills, ideas, and friendships in order to meet challenges, and to be of service through dynamic, organized activities.