Registration is open now for fall courses at the University of Delaware’s lifelong learning program in Wilmington, with fall catalogs and registration available online. A link is here.

The fall semester will begin Tuesday, Sept. 11, and continue through Friday, Dec. 8.

More than 2,400 people over the age of 50 attend the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program in Wilmington, where members teach and take classes together with no tests, grades or papers, and participate in abundant opportunities for socializing and travel. Members of this academic cooperative come from different educational backgrounds and all walks of life, attending from Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland.

The upcoming fall semester includes new community service opportunities in the form of course offerings focused on orientation and instruction in volunteerism techniques in a collaborative environment of peers.

Partnerships with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware, Brandywine Village Network and Literacy Delaware allow members to sign up for an orientation course that takes place during the regular OLLI academic schedule, with outreach or volunteering activities coordinated through the course’s community partner. This fall, community service opportunities include mentoring elementary school students, tutoring adult learners and helping others age in place. Community service courses can be taken in addition to five academic courses and unlimited extracurricular activities each semester.

Also a highlight this semester will be a Friday lecture series by Raymond Callahan, University of Delaware professor emeritus of history. Each Friday from Oct. 6 to Nov. 17, Callahan will discuss World War II resistance movements in a series of talks entitled Setting Europe Ablaze: Britain and the European Resistance. The lecture series is free and open to the public.

Academic opportunities at OLLI include courses in the arts, music, humanities, genealogy, eight different languages, sciences, yoga and more. There are over 260 courses and 30 extracurricular activities to choose from. Membership offers additional benefits including University of Delaware Library, fitness center and UD credit course auditing privileges.

On Wednesday, Aug. 2, the community is invited to attend OLLI Info Day to learn more about the Wilmington lifelong learning program. This event takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Goodstay Center on the University’s Wilmington Campus, 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and features in-person registration and the opportunity to meet program instructors, members and staff.

In-person registration for the fall semester takes place Tuesday-Friday, Aug. 1-4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., also at the Goodstay Center. In addition, the fall catalog is currently online. Registrations are accepted online and by mail.

Gift certificates for membership can be purchased and are available by calling 302-573-4486.

After a summer of renovations which temporarily moved the program’s registration and open house events to UD’s Goodstay Center, the OLLI fall semester will take place back at the program’s home location of Arsht Hall, 2700 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware in Wilmington is an academic cooperative for people age 50 and over. The University also offers Osher Lifelong Learning programs in Dover and Lewes.

For more information, contact the program at 302-573-4417 or LLL-wilm@udel.edu, or visit http://www.lifelonglearning.udel.edu/wilmington/.