OLLI marked 20 years of promoting lifelong learning, thanks to instructors like Tom Allen

Life can be full of difficult transitions like leaving home for the first time, changing jobs or becoming a parent. Pitt's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is here to help people adapt to an often overlooked lifestyle change — from employment to retirement.

For the last 20 years, OLLI at Pitt has engaged thousands of learners, all aged 50 and older. Current membership is almost 1,400 individuals from 21 different states. The program offers in-person and online courses that range from yoga to in-depth studies of literature classics to technology tutorials.

Tom Allen, who practiced as an attorney at Reed Smith LLP for 40-plus years, is one of many students who have come to OLLI to stay mentally active following retirement from a successful and busy career. Allen, looking for something to occupy his time, heard about OLLI classes from other former lawyers.

“I had been a very busy lawyer, working really hard up until the time I retired,” Allen said. “So, I needed, frankly, something to fill up some time, something that I would enjoy doing.”

He began taking classes in 2022 and immediately delighted in feeling productive and mentally active. But Allen still longed for more opportunities to explore his passions in his free time, of which he now had plenty. So, he decided to begin teaching classes himself in 2023.

Allen previously served as an adjunct faculty member in the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and as an instructor of continuing education courses for legal professionals. Using his legal expertise and teaching experience, his OLLI courses teach students about legal concepts through the lens of current events, including highly publicized trials and Supreme Court decisions.

“Preparing for the classes takes a fair amount of work — for example, with the classes about the Supreme Court, I’d have to read the decisions, I’d have to keep up with what the Supreme Court was doing, which I was interested in doing anyway,” Allen said.

Thanks to his passion and expertise, students quickly flocked to Allen’s teaching, making his classes some of the most in-demand courses in the OLLI program. In fact, to accommodate the nearly 300 students who requested to be in his most recent class, Three Famous Jury Trials in U.S. History, it had to be split into two sections.  

“He is one of the instructors we talk about when we say, ‘If so-and-so taught the phone book ... or watching paint dry on the wall, people would sign up for that class,’” said OLLI Director Lisa Sharfstein.

Sharfstein praised Allen’s ability to explain legal issues and current events in a way that would help any student understand the news better than they did before. Allen’s teaching is informed by OLLI’s guiding principle: No matter one’s age, they can always seek out new things and learn.

According to the census, by the end of 2025, almost 12,000 people will turn 65 daily in the U.S. As the population of people at or near retirement age grows, Sharfstein says older adults want to know “not only how they can extend their lives, but also how they can make the quality of their lives better and healthier.”

Exercise, sleep and nutrition are key parts of healthy aging, and so is staying mentally active. But, according to Allen, it’s not only good for your health — it’s just plain fun.

“When you get down to it, the most fun thing about these classes is that people learn new things,” he said. “And that’s what I’m hoping I’m able to help our students do.”

Interested in getting involved with OLLI? Attend an in-person open house on Aug. 14 or an online option on Aug. 20. For more information, visit the program’s website or reach out at osher [at] pitt.edu. 

Photography by Aimee Obidzinski