Brief
History
(1977 to present)
Lifetime
Learning (then Austin ILL) started in 1977 with an enrollment of 173 students
and 8 teachers. This extraordinary endeavor stemmed from the experience of
three teachers: Catherine Goodwin, the Rev. Walter Pilgrim, and Lillian Warren,
who participated in an Austin Community College (ACC) program for adults that
lasted only one year, ending in 1976.
Learning
of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)’s Institute of Lifetime
Learning (ILL), the Rev. Pilgrim, with enthusiastic local support, obtained the
necessary information and guidance to establish such a program in Austin.
On
June 21, 1977, a charter was issued by AARP to the Institute of Lifetime Learning
of Austin, the 52nd such charter in the United States.
The
supporting group elected an executive committee composed of Catherine Goodwin,
Irene St. Clair, Eleanora Simmons, Wilbur Hurt, Mac Payne, and Travis
Williamson, with the Rev. Pilgrim as Director.
In
1983, ILL of Austin separated from AARP and became Lifetime Learning Institute
(LLI) of Austin, the program now in operation.
Over
the years, space has been provided by the Rev. and Mrs. Pilgrim in their home
(June 1977 to 1978), the Governor’s Committee on Aging (June to October 1978),
Austin Parks and Recreation Department (April 1979 to January 1980), Austin
Community College (January 1980 to August 1986), and Concordia University at
Austin (August 1986 to 2008). In the Spring of 2008, LLI began renting space
for their office at the Lamar Towers in North Austin.
From
the beginning, courses were designed to meet the interest and needs of older
adults. The first term of eight classes included law for seniors, Texas
history, creative writing, needlecraft, Spanish, painting, genealogy, and
philosophy. Forty years later, the expanded program includes classes in the
fields of business, science, health, language, art, literature, music, and
history. Every year new courses are introduced and some are retired.
Students
experience courses with optional homework, no disciplinary problems, no exams,
intermissions in most two-hour sessions, and classes of students who choose to
be there!
LLI
teachers, many with advanced degrees, prepare curricula and teach their classes
for pleasure, with only a small honorarium.
Opportunities
abound in various locations in the city at churches, recreation/activity
facilities and retirement centers that participate with the Lifetime Learning
Institute (LLI) volunteers to bring Austin seniors a large array of diverse
classes with places to go, new things to learn, and people to meet.
With
increasing costs of printing, postage, rent, and miscellaneous expenses, the
registration fee may grow, but LLI strives to keep it affordable so that anyone
on a fixed income can participate. We also offer a number of fee waivers each
semester for those who request it.
These
low fees are possible because the Institute is blessed with a cadre of
volunteers and helpers without whom the program could not function. Each
semester, volunteer leaders and their helpers participate in curriculum
development that results in the delivery of the quality courses for which LLI
is famous. Our catalog, course listing mailers, forms, schedules, and notices
are developed for printing and distribution. Volunteers manage our website.
Recent adoption of an online registration program has greatly simplified and
expedited registration and payment of our low course fees.
The
first semester of “Austin ILL” began October 3, 1977, with an eight-week
schedule of eight classes meeting two hours a week. The fee was $5 per course;
the teacher's honorarium was $50. In recent times, LLI makes 70-80 courses
available to over 1000 registrants each semester, now at $30/course, are intentionally
affordable. No wonder LLI claims to be “the best bargain in town!”