Penfield Rotary December Meeting

Guest Speaker: Sara Connor, of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

For the first 19 years of their existence, they were known as The Athenaeum at Rochester Institute of Technology.  The Athenaeum name was in honor of RIT’s own history—the university was founded in 1891 when the Rochester Athenaeum (focused on liberal arts) merged with the Rochester Mechanics Institute (focused on engineering). From their first days in 1987, we were intent on creating a member-led learning organization.

In 2006, they became an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, joining a growing national network of 120+ university-based centers for older learners. Their name change from The Athenaeum to Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at RIT marked this important national affiliation, a relationship that includes significant funding for efforts to help them grow. 

Osher is part of the Government & Community Relations division of RIT, a growing and vibrant presence on the national and international higher education scene.