Staff from Osher Institute at UR selected to participate, present at national symposium

The Osher Institute at the University of Richmond has been invited to participate in the Osher NRC Symposium, a national gathering of select Osher Institutes from across the country brought together to discuss Building for Sustainability and Growth in Osher Institutes.

The symposium has been called by the Osher NRC, the National Resource Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes at Northwestern University. The gathering will be held October 14-16, 2019, at Northwestern University’s School of Professional Studies.

Staff leaders from Osher Institutes that have received a Capacity-Building Grant, or a single $1 million endowment, from The Bernard Osher Foundation were eligible to self-nominate to participate in the symposium. The Osher Institute at the University of Richmond has received both.

After Peggy Watson, W’76, director of the Osher Institute at UR, received the initial invitation to participate in the symposium, Osher Foundation staff extended a second invitation to Amy Edwards, L’95, Osher stewardship assistant, to attend with Watson.

Edwards has managed the Osher Institute’s annual fundraising campaigns through the Capacity-Building Grant from The Bernard Osher Foundation since 2017. Edwards’ success in building capacity in the Osher Institute at UR has not gone unnoticed, and she’s been invited to share her story of establishing an annual fundraising campaign during the symposium.

Edwards is currently managing the 2019 Osher Annual Fundraising Campaign with a goal of raising $20,000. Successful campaigns in 2017 and 2018 raised over $10,000 and $15,000, respectively.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Richmond is one of 124 institutes across the country, all supported by the Osher National Resource Center. The Osher Institute at UR was established in 2004 in the School of Professional & Continuing Studies.