During my time as president at Southern Miss, I've had the great pleasure of meeting many different people from all walks of life through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. I've watched as more people in the community come to the institute believing in the strong message that "one never stops learning." OLLI director, Sue Pace, believed in that message when she founded the Institute for Learning in Retirement 17 years ago.
Today, years of hard work and dedication by Sue and many others has paid off. They built a solid program dedicated to making our community better through education. I'm delighted to announce a $1 million endowment generously donated by the Bernard Osher Foundation. This gift will ensure lifelong learning for many generations to come.