History
The PLATO Society was established in 1980 as part of UCLA's continuing learning program. Elizabeth Cless, a leader in the field of adult education at the University of Minnesota and at the Claremont Colleges worked with UCLA Extension's Dean Leonard Freedman and others from the UCLA community to establish PLATO as a self-governing, self-directing, and self-sustaining organization. In 2013, the PLATO Society became an independent non-profit educational organization. Its goal remains as it was originally set forth: