EDWARDSVILLE – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) was awarded the Innovative Initiative Award by the Illinois Council for Continuing Higher Education (ICCHE). The Innovative Initiative Award recognizes and promotes best practices across Illinois while providing the opportunity for two-year and four-year institutions to showcase outstanding new programs and outline the path to that success.
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Though active in various forms since the 1980s, the LLI has evolved to offer educational programs for area retirees designed for a lifetime of learning and personal growth. The programming includes a weekly speaker series, trips, a Library Speaker Series and a Summer STEAM Tour.
Nominated for its initiatives to increase community engagement and participation in educational outreach opportunities, the LLI implemented a hybrid delivery model for its signature Library Speaker Series.
“This initiative promotes lifelong learning to community members who are unable to drive the distance to participate in the in-person offering, are ill or recovering from an illness or surgery or are homebound,” said Leslie Brock, assistant director of non-credit programs in the Office of Online Services and Educational Outreach (OSEO).
Another key initiative, the Summer STEAM Tour, provides opportunities for younger community members with their caregivers to engage in family-friendly activities that support area libraries’ summer reading programs.
From doubling LLI membership to providing additional programs for hundreds of individuals through area libraries, the LLI continues to search for innovative ways to increase their engagement across the region.
“The Innovative Initiative Award reaffirms our efforts and renews our commitment to the region SIUE serves,” said Alicia Taylor, LLI program coordinator. “We are humbled by the recognition and look forward to continuing to serve our communities by meeting them where they are.”
For information on the LLI and other educational outreach and personal development opportunities available through SIUE’s OSEO, visit siue.edu/educational-outreach/ or call 618.650.3210.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high-quality education that powerfully transforms the lives of all individuals who seek something greater. A premier metropolitan university, SIUE is creating social and economic mobility for individuals while also powering the workforce of the future. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of more than 12,500.
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