Osher Lifelong Learning at JHU, which offers courses, lectures, and activities for retired and semi-retired learners, celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2026.
Officially the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Community at Johns Hopkins, the organization offers noncredit courses in Columbia and Montgomery County, Maryland, as well as online. Courses cover a wide range of topics including capitalism and socialism, jazz greats Duke Ellington and Count Basie, environmental psychology, and the human side of science.
Osher also hosts trips to domestic and global destinations, lectures on topics like music and history, social events, and a semiannual journal for members to build community and share their experiences. Research shows that having multiple social connections—a distinctive feature of Osher membership—supports healthy aging, says Susan Howard, program director.
A special community
“More than a place where people come and go to take a class here and there, Osher is a community of learners who get to know one another and the faculty and staff,” Howard says. “To stay relevant in today’s lifelong learning space, Osher at JHU listens to current members and strives to develop programs for modern mature learners and remain a vibrant community of important social connections for its members.”
As an online program, Howard adds, Osher attracts faculty from Hopkins and around the nation, allowing it to offer courses on relevant and timely topics like AI and e-commerce.
Founded by Hopkins on its Columbia campus as the Evergreen Society in 1986, Osher at JHU became a program of the San Francisco-based Bernard Osher Foundation in 2008.