Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) — Moving from Downtown Campus to the Main SFSU Campus

OLLI is part of the Liberal and Creative Arts College (LCA) and we will be moving to two spaces in the Humanities building. Humanities 503 is a large, bright space that will be the new “OLLI center”, and we will also have exclusive use of Humanities 573. The Humanities Building is located on Tapia and Font, right off of Holloway Avenue. The four buildings of LCA are Humanities, Marcus Hall, Fine Arts, and Creative Arts.

Classrooms will also be in the Humanities building with most in-person large classes being held in HUM 294. OLLI Plus talks will continue to be in HUM 587.

SF State’s lease at 160 Spear is up June 30, 2026. Ideally OLLI would begin moving in the Spring of 2026 and our first full session on campus would be next Summer Session, July 6 - August 14.

OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) was established at San Francisco State University (SF State or SFSU) in 2003 and is one of 124 university affiliated Osher Institutes across the country. San Francisco State received a million dollar endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation to start our OLLI. Every year we can draw 5% of the endowment (~$50,000 - $60,000/yr) to supplement what is raised through membership, enrollment, travel revenue and fundraising.

• A large room to seat 45-50 people (approx. 1300 sqft) with option to rent larger  rooms for Faculty Preview events and community gatherings (up to 2300 sqft)
• A smaller room to seat up to 22 people (approx. 900 sqft) with option to rent    smaller rooms for meetings, or interest groups (approx. 300-500 sq ft.)
• 3 workspaces/cubicles/offices (36 – 80 sq ft)
• Storage
• Ideally a gathering space

OLLI is part of the College of Liberal and Creative Arts (LCA). For many years we were able to be housed within the Downtown Campus, but SF State can no longer support a Downtown Campus. The OLLI director has worked with the leadership at LCA, as well as the OLLI Council and upon the closing of the DTC, we are fortunate to have the option to move to the main SFSU campus. The leadership of LCA is excited that OLLI will be part of the main SF State campus and take advantage of all aspects of our host university.  

Director, Kathy Bruin, the OLLI Council and a subcommittee of the Council: David Perper, Barbara Barer, Yane Norhav and Ruth Weinberg. Questions and concerns can be sent to olli@sfsu.edu.

Yes, but OLLI also had a downtown campus at the same time which complicated enrollment and staffing, and the room assigned to OLLI on the main campus was small, hard to get to, and didn’t have windows. In this instance we will have a dedicated location for classes, work spaces, meetings, storage and a gathering space. And an OLLI sign! 

Oh my! Glad you asked! Here are some things that we really hope to take advantage of:

• Having a “center” — a place to gather, a real OLLI space. The space can include art, bookshelves, and a place to serve coffee. 
• No rent. Being at the main campus would be free for OLLI.
• More overlap with OLLI Plus (formerly Sixty Plus) which was formed at SFSU in 1975 and continues to meet on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month.
• Having access to on-campus offerings like lectures, performances, galleries, the library, bookstore, FitPlus and the Nasser gymnasium, and activities and events offered by LCA Live.
• Having a closer relationship with and support from the College of Liberal and Creative Arts and our host university.
• The potential for other rooms to be used for classes (art rooms, the Vista Room restaurant/kitchens, auditoriums, science rooms, the lawns outside.)
• Having more SFSU instructors.
• Intergenerational opportunities.

We have looked at a couple options closer to 19th and Holloway where the majority of public transportation gets off, but we really need a dedicated classroom that seats 45 – 50 people and that has not been easy to find. 

Also, in moving to the main SFSU campus, we will fulfill our need to have a gathering space. Because we are part of the College of Liberal and Creative Arts, it makes sense for us to be in one of the four LCA buildings where we can have everything in one place: classrooms, gathering space, work space, and storage. Their buildings are all on the southwest side of campus: Marcus Hall, Creative Arts, Fine Arts and Humanities.

The main SF State Library has some rooms but cannot fulfill our needs for 38 weeks a year with nearby work space, meeting space and gathering space.

The Downtown Campus was made up of the Lam Family College of Business Graduate school, the College of Professional and Global Education (CPaGE, formerly College of Extended Learning), and Public Administration. At different times, the DTC has been at 160 Spear, the Westfield Center, and elsewhere, and OLLI has sublet classrooms from each school as it worked for us as well as for the department we rented from. This will not be an option for OLLI going forward, since SF State departments will no longer have classrooms to rent to us.

It is true that there are a lot of vacancies in SF but because of costs, and the reality that an office space is not the same as a classroom space, OLLI is not able to move to another downtown location. 

OLLI and SF State have looked at many spaces downtown that have classrooms, because of costs, staying downtown is not an option. 

OLLI needs many things that we wouldn’t get in spaces like these: dedicated classrooms for 38 weeks a year, work space, gathering space, meeting space etc. Some of the options don’t have a large enough space, others might have space available for some of the time, but cannot commit to the entire time we need. And, these spaces are not associated with SF State.

Even after 6 months of free rent, the monthly fee could be $15,000 to $20,000 a month for a relatively small footprint. Because we need so much space and we are not budgeted to pay such high rent, it is not a possibility for OLLI. We also would no longer be linked with an SFSU location, which is essential in our by-laws.

Without a dedicated SFSU entity downtown, OLLI would no longer be part of an SFSU location. Additionally, it is not good budgeting practice to make long term lease plans based on possible funds raised. 

I have met with Disability Programs and Resource Center (DPRC) about campus carts which are like golf carts that seat 5 passengers and deliver people to and from classes and other places on campus. There is a process to be approved but currently the carts are available to anyone through either a phone call or by setting up a series of picks-ups. 

I spoke with them about campus carts running on a loop between 19th and Holloway, Parking Lot 20, and the Humanities Building. They are very solution-minded and we will work closely to provide some service still to be determined.

There is some street parking as well as parking lots. The main lot is Lot 20 which is off Lake Merced Blvd. 

• Currently parking costs $10 and we are considering both the costs and logistics of subsidizing parking.
• As stated above we are working with DPRC (Disability Programs and Resource Center) about campus carts. 

We want to make sure OLLI students don’t have trouble navigating the main campus and finding the Humanities Building. Even for those who attended SFSU, much on the main campus has changed. 

In addition to current signage at SFSU, we are considering the following to direct people from 19th and Holloway where the majority of public transportation leaves off, as well as from the parking lot and encourage general familiarity with campus:

• maps with printed instructions 
• videos of us walking the route
• tours
• students directing people (TBD)
• temporary OLLI signs whenever there are classes (TBD)
• seeing if it’s possible to paint “OLLI” on the pathways (TBD)
• Potential for “campus carts” running on a loop between 19th and Holloway, Parking Lot 20, and the Humanities Building.

There are several bus routes to and from San Francisco State. 

• 57 — Park Merced

  • The 57 (see blue route on the image below) bus runs closest to the Humanities building; it runs between the West Portal Muni Station and the Daly City BART and stops at Font and Tapia. The red dot on the image is the Humanities Building.

• 28 — 19th Ave

• 28 — 19th Avenue Rapid

• 29 — Sunset

• M — Ocean View