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Special events at Osher

All Osher memberships give you access to fun activities outside the classroom! The Osher staff will email throughout the semester with instructions and details on how you can take part.

Photos of Osher members at various special events.

  • Osher Clubs

    Currently, three clubs are active and engaged. We have room for more, however, so if you have a bright idea or would like to coordinate a new club, contact the Osher staff.

    • Diversity Book Club: Meets on the third Thursday of the month when Osher classes are in session. Coordinated by Osher member Nancy Browning, professor emeritus of cultural diversity at Lincoln University. Books are announced in the Osher e-newsletter.
    • Travel Club: Meets the second Wednesday of each month. Come and share your travel stories with an engaged group. Coordinated by Osher member and world traveler Sharon Kinden.
    • Social Club: Current Osher members will receive occasional invitation emails for unique and creative outings. Coordinated by the Osher@Mizzou Outreach Committee.

  • Friday Morning Book Talk Series

    The series has evolved from its Saturday-morning time slot, but will still offer coffee, scones, author visits and book signings. Sessions will take place on the first Friday of each month, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. in the Moss Building (1905 Hillcrest Drive in Columbia). Doors open at 9:00 a.m.

    The sessions are open to the public – free for current Osher@Mizzou and Columbia Parks and Rec 50+ members; $3 at the door for others.

    2023 Schedule

    Feb 3 • Justin Hamm
    Drinking Guinness with the Dead
    Spartan Press 2022

    Mar 3 • Stephen Paul Sayers
    100 Things to Do in Columbia, MO Before You Die
    Reedy Press 2022

    Apr 7 • W. Arthur Mehrhoff
    Explore Missouri’s German Heritage
    University of Missouri Press 2019

    May 5 • Lynn Rossy
    Savor Every Bite: Mindful Ways to Eat, Love Your Body, and Live with Joy
    New Harbinger Publications 2021

    Jun 2 • Lynne Jensen Lampe
    Talk Smack to a Hurricane
    Ice Floe Press 2022

    Jul 7 • Alex George
    The Paris Hours
    Flatiron Press 2020

    Aug 4 • Sarah Kohnle
    For Such a Time as This: Flavors and Recipes of My Honduras
    Compass Flower Press 2020

    September • No Book Talk

    Oct 6 • Walter Bargen
    Too Late to Turn Back, Singing Bone Press 2023
    Radiation Diary, Lamar University Literary Press 2023

    Nov 3 • Dianna Borsi O’Brien
    Historic Movie Theaters of Columbia, Missouri
    Arcadia Publishing 2021

    Dec 1 • Steve Wiegenstein
    Land of Joys
    Amphorae Publishing Group 2023

  • Robert G. Silvers Memorial Seminar Series

    Next seminar date - TBA

    Celebrating the Best of the Human Mind

    The life and spirit of Sally Silvers’ beloved Robert will be celebrated in perpetuity with a generous endowment to the Osher program. Sally created the Robert G. Silvers Memorial Seminar Series: Celebrating the Best of the Human Mind to commemorate Robert’s wondrous intelligence and humanity.

    Robert and Sally Silvers

    After setting records for the number of courses in which he enrolled each semester, Silvers assumed the role of instructor. He was teaching a course in woodworking in the Osher program when he took ill eleven years ago. So overwhelming was Robert’s passion for the beauty of wood and opulent wood veneers, Sally’s choice of speaker for the series has been a woodworking artist – the very one that was her husband’s inspiration and mentor, Ian J. Kirby.

    Join Sally Silvers’ family, friends and acquaintances – and our students – to celebrate this fine human being who shared our lives and our hopes. He was one of our finest, most caring instructors – totally committed to his students and the Osher program.

    It is from Ian Kirby that Robert acquired his avocation. The devotion, the respect, the bond between the Silvers and Kirby continues unchanged. You will likely experience the craft they shared – and, of course, Kirby’s impressive insight into the development and historical importance of this great art.

      • "Because of how my Robert loved this program, I wanted to give a gift to him and to our community by creating an endowment establishing The Robert G. Silvers Seminar Series: Celebrating the Best of the Human Mind. Robert wanted to learn everything … all of the time. This tribute series is a bequest to all who seek, as he did, to grow in knowledge and understanding. The response to the speaker for the inaugural seminar was overwhelming. You will not be surprised to learn that I requested a return engagement of Robert’s beloved friend and mentor, Ian Kirby." - Sally Silvers