A Memory

Written by Jane Dowrick, photo by Jane Dowrick

As we approach our tenth anniversary of the Osher Institute at the University of Richmond, it’s fun to recall some of the wonderful, as well as funny, moments of those 10 years. For example, there was the Osher open house in 2004 that I remember as “the night the lights went out.” Expecting more than 200 people, we were well prepared for our guests with a sparkling panel discussion about the many interesting issues of the generations over age 50. Shortly before time to begin the program, a raging storm caused a campus-wide power outage. Most of the guests had arrived and were making the best of it, including braving the dark in windowless restrooms. We decided to see how far into the panel program we could get before complete darkness fell. As the room grew more dim, the discussion turned into a contentious debate about war that the moderator couldn’t rein in. After about 30 minutes the lights suddenly came back on and tempers flared all the more. One of our panelists, the much beloved UR Chancellor Bruce Heilman, got us back on track to a more friendly interchange. 

By the time it was my turn to talk about the fall Osher program, the crowd seemed weary, having survived the tensions of darkness and talk of war. I pressed on as brightly as I could through my part of the program, to tell people about the upcoming fall Osher program. The next day was all about damage control. It crossed my mind that my days with the Osher Institute might be numbered. I was relieved when SPCS Dean Narduzzi advised me to chalk it up as a ‘launch and learn’ experience, and to keep moving forward. 

Thankfully, all of our other events, big and small, over the past nine plus years have gone very well and the Osher Institute has thrived, adding hundreds of happy Osher students over the years.