Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers Offers More than Two Dozen New Courses This Fall

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J.  – Love politics? Over 50? As the presidential election heats up, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Rutgers (OLLI-RU) will bring in the experts to examine this most salient of American political institutions in two of more than two dozen new courses offered across a spectrum of interests for adult learners this fall.

Registration begins Wednesday, August 1, for more than 100 course offerings for the fall session, which will run from August 27 through November 14. Classes are held at Raritan Valley Community College’s Bridgewater site, The Reformed Church of Highland Park, and Brookdale Community College’s Western Monmouth Higher Education Center in Freehold, as well as on Rutgers’ New Brunswick Campus.

New courses are being offered on computers, music, film, history, psychology, art and more, with many taught by OLLI-RU’s popular instructors. New selections include Adult Piano, Computer Basics, Films About Films, Coming of Age Films, and Folk Music Revival. Others will explore mental health issues, composers like Verdi and Bach, and the validity of statistical claims.

Leading the presidential election courses will be Gerald Pomper, Board of Governors Professor Emeritus of political science, and Jon Plaut, a Clinton Administration appointee and educator.

Pomper will teach The Presidential Election of 2012, examining the nominating process, polling, campaigning, the debates, the Electoral College and the results, as the class continues beyond Election Day. This class will meet at Woodlawn, home of the Eagleton Institute of Politics.

Plaut’s course, 2012 Presidential Election and Issues, will use the The New York Times’ Weekly Review section to frame, in a nonpartisan manner, the election issues as they unfold. It will be offered in Freehold and Highland Park.

Tuition for OLLI-RU classes ranges from $35 to $75 per course, depending on the duration and course materials.

For full course descriptions and online registration information, visit olliru.rutgers.edu. For more information or to request a catalog, send email or call 732-932-7233, ext. 4200.

Established in 1993, OLLI-RU caters to the interests of adult learners over 50, offering a wide range of courses in art, music, language, film, history, and other topics.