OLLI at TTU, Fredericksburg Volunteer Feature: James Klein

By Daniel Johnson, Section Manager

OLLI at TTU, Fredericksburg board member, instructor and curriculum committee leader James Klein has a long history in higher education and university settings - 36 years altogether, in fact. Those 36 years do not include the years he spent earning his bachelor's, master's and eventually his doctorate degrees.

James grew up in Dallas and went on to the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees. For his doctorate, James chose the nationally ranked and internationally renowned University of Cincinnati-College-Conservatory of Music.

For 21 years of his career, James worked as a university professor. The remaining years he spent as a university administrator. His stops include Valparaiso University in Indiana, Cal State University, Texas A&M University-Commerce and eventually Southern Oregon University. It was at Southern Oregon where James first became involved with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

"We had a really active OLLI program at Southern Oregon University; we had about 1,500 members," said James. "They had all kinds of classes going on all the time. They had classes that were one-time class and some for even seven or eight sessions."

James retired from Southern Oregon University and settled in Fredericksburg about five years ago, where his family has been in the area since 1845.

"When we first moved back, I would see OLLI advertisements in the local newspaper, the Fredericksburg Standard. My cousin, Maria Robertson, was involved with OLLI, and she was the one who got me involved and took me to my first kickoff."

In the two years with OLLI at TTU, Fredericksburg James joined the board, started instructing courses and soon after was in charge of the curriculum committee, a position he was very comfortable in.

"It was part of my background. I had been in higher education my entire career, so it was just an extension to what I had been doing."

The curriculum committee meets once a month throughout the year. It is their responsibility to solicit, design and recruit instructors to offer classes in many different categories.

"We try to make sure we cover all the bases with classes. We will have some cultural, the arts, science, wine and cooking," James explained.

The difficult part of making the catalog is constructing fresh classes and finding instructors willing to volunteer their time to teach them, something that often takes a who-knows-who direction in the small Texas Hill Country town.

"We have to rely on others and who they know when it comes to putting the classes together. We are always looking for new people to join OLLI, the board and different committees," said James. "Everyone that comes on our board each know different people or has access to different kinds of information."

Fredericksburg has become a popular place to visit because of its wineries, vineyards and tasting rooms. James and the curriculum committee have made it a priority to tap into the local interests and issues of their Texas region agriculture and environment.

"We have had classes on French wine grapes and Spanish grapes. We may look into doing an Italian one next because most of the grapes that grow well here in Texas are from the Mediterranean area."

These classes are enjoyable and meet peoples' interests, but the group wants to make sure that they are also educational for those in attendance.

"We try to do these classes so it's more than just people coming to a wine tasting-type class," said James. "We want people to learn about the regions the grapes come from, why they work well here in Texas, what some of the challenges are that growers face. We try to make it very educational."

For James, history, science and culture are more of his interests.

"We had an astronaut class this fall, and that was one of the best courses we have had. I have learned a lot about agriculture. We had a great session last spring about cotton, where and how it is grown and issues with water."

There is a lot to be excited about this upcoming spring semester. OLLI at TTU, Fredericksburg is always looking for ways to gain members and expand its learning community. The curriculum committee works tirelessly to present some great class options that will appeal to members with multiple interests.

"This spring semester, we are looking to do more evening classes so that some of those who are still working can attend," James explained. "We will also be doing a lot of classes on the environment and sustainability practices."

"We also have a doubleheader course about the Oscars, where the instructor shares who has been nominated and then [shows]short video clips. There is even a meat class on how to select different meats and ways to prepare them."

While James has only been with OLLI at TTU, Fredericksburg for a few years, there is something very familiar about it all.

"The OLLI students are similar to students when I first started teaching, they make for a great audience, great interaction and just overall, a great experience."