Our speaker, Peter Paquette has an AB in history from Dartmouth and an MBA from Tuck.
Peter Paquette
Photo from Osher Webpage
Peter was a member of the Lebanon-Riverside Rotary Club in 1994-1995. He shared he was president the year of the airshow when two members of the airshow were tragically killed in a mid-air accident. He shared, “this ripped the heart out of the Rotary Club of Lebanon-Riverside. It wasn’t long after this that he left the club when he moved to Claremont and began traveling over 200 days each year…His schedule kept him from Rotary. Currently he is President of the Leadership Council for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (Osher). Previously he was the chair of the finance committee, and recruited Hank Clarke to join the committee. Hank arranged for Osher to invite us to see their offices and classrooms, and to have Peter give us an overview of Osher’s history.
In 1990, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dartmouth (Osher at Dartmouth), Osher is a volunteer, non-credit continuing education program for adults. It was established in 1990 by Charter from Dartmouth College under the Office of the Provost. Originally called ILEAD (Institute for Lifelong Education at Dartmouth), the name was changed when ILEAD joined the Osher network of Lifelong Learning Institutes. For 30 years, Osher we housed at the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) in Hanover. The lost there home in Hanover when the Dartmouth Class of 1996 in raised 2 million dollars to remodel DOC and Osher had to relocate. They found their new home in Lebanon.
In 1991 the first two courses were offered, one about Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter; and the other was focused on healthcare in the USA.
Osher isn’t a degree granting organization. It is an enrichment program. There are no tests, but some courses may have homework assignments (often reading) to help make discussions and the class content more meaningful.
When Osher lost it home in Hanover in 2014, they had an opportunity to become one of the nationwide Osher programs. They received part of the Osher endowment at this point in time to help support the continuation of ILEAD, but they were required to change their name to include Osher. All Osher programs are done in partnership with colleges/universities.
Osher follows Dartmouth’s quarter terms. Annually they offer between 180 and 200 courses on a wide range of topics. Most courses are held during the day. Some of the courses are recorded so if you can’t make one class, you can view it when your schedule permits.
Osher quickly pivoted to online learning during Covid. They increased participation to approx. 4,500 people. Prior to the start of Covid, they had 59 courses planned for March 2020. They successfully converted 19 courses to virtual learning in a matter of two weeks.
Participant numbers now stand at about 2,000.
There are opportunities to join courses in person and/or virtually. Osher has been able to attract teachers from around the country. One good outcome from Covid.
To join a course, you pay and membership fee of $80.00/year, and an ala carte fee for a course. Prices vary based on a variety of factors. In addition to courses, Osher has sponsored trip to the Boston Symphony, theaters and museums for special exhibitions in Boston.
Osher runs a summer lecture series which used to be help at Spaulding Auditorium in the Hopkins Center. When the Hop closed for remodeling, once again they had to find a new home for this part of the program. They were able to have space at the Lebanon Opera House. This summer there are 4 topics being covered in their Preserving America’s Four Freedoms: The Heart of Our Democracy program. The course will cover freedom of speech; freedom of worship; freedom from want; and freedom of fear. From the Osher webpage;
Learn more about Osher at: https://osher.dartmouth.edu/
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