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National Resource Center
for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes Newsletter
February 2012
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Greetings from Kali
| I hope you enjoy the new look to our NRC newsletter. Thank you to the OLLIs at Casper College, CSU Long Beach, and the University of Illinois for sharing OLLI news with us! I hope you all enjoy reading these articles as much as we did. If you have OLLI news you would like to share with the network, please send it in. Look at the "OLLIs -- Toot Your Horns" article for additional information.
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Save the Date for OLLI 2012 National Conference
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If you have any questions about the 2012 OLLI National Conference, please do not hesitate to contact Fran Myers by email or by phone at 207-228-8256.
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Seeking OLLI National Conference Presenters
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DEADLINE APPROACHING - MARCH 31st We are requesting session proposals for the next OLLI National Conference, which will be held November 12-14, 2012, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Broadmoor Hotel.
If you are interested in presenting at the 2012 OLLI National Conference, please fill out a "Request for Session Proposals" form and send it to Fran Myers (details for sending it are on the form). Conference delegates from the same or another OLLI may wish to team up to present a session. Please keep in mind that we will accept sessions only from those who are attending the conference.
If you have questions, please contact Fran Myers by email or by phone at 207-228-8256. We are looking forward to reading your submissions! |
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OLLIs -- Toot Your Horns!
|  We are revamping the NRC newsletter to include articles from OLLIs around the network! We are looking for those special happenings or news items that you are particularly proud of and know others in the network will also be excited and inspired by when they hear about it. Please note - We don't expect you to send something every month by any means but keep the network newsletter in mind as a place to "Toot your Horn!" when good things happen.
We still plan to post Kali's monthly letter to the network plus her news items, as we know you enjoy these useful nuggets of information. We simply want to invite you to take the opportunity of sharing your special institute news items with the whole network. We are happy to reprint one of your own newsletter stories -- we will just provide a bigger audience.
If you have a story to share, please send (with photos if possible) to Fran or Anne at the National Resource Center.
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Free OLLI Banners Available
| Are you looking for a way to add some pizzaz to a classroom, lobby or office? Here's a link for viewing four OLLI banners that are available to the first takers! Worried about the cost of shipping? No worries -- we'll handle that for you.
The banners feature OLLI members. The photos are mounted on a dark green background. Each banner is 72" high x 36" wide and has a rod pocket at the top and bottom.
First come, first served on this offer!! Contact Fran Myers if you are interested.
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A Job Well Done Leads to New Position at OLLI at Casper College
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 | Karen Arnold with her husband Tom
at the recent Robert Burns Dinner held at
the OLLI at Casper College.
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On February 1 Karen Arnold, formerly Continuing Education Administrative Assistant at Casper College, was promoted to a brand new position as OLLI Membership Coordinator at Casper College. When Karen was the administrative assistant she spent 90% of her time assisting the OLLI program with membership and registration issues. The college recognized her importance to the OLLI program and created the Membership Coordinator position. Karen is originally from South Carolina, where she met her husband Tom when he was in the Navy. A Navy move took them to San Diego, CA, where they lived and raised a family and Karen worked at the University of South Dakota as a researcher. A desire to live in a smaller town led Karen and Tom to move to Casper, WY, and working at Casper College. Karen reports that she is thrilled to be able to spend 100% of her on-the-job time working for OLLI. As the Program Coordinator for OLLI at Casper College, I am overjoyed to welcome Karen to this new position! Karen's presence frees me to focus my efforts on finding new classes and planning special events for OLLI members. It is a HUGE WOW for our program and for the two of us. -- Submitted by Vicki Pollack, OLLI at Casper College
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OLLI at CSU Long Beach Offers New Cinema Courses
|  New this winter at the Downtown satellite location of the OLLI at CSU Long Beach is an exciting class, Documentary Films...8 Films...8 Styles...8 Incredible Stories. Logan Crow, Executive Director, Screening and Events Programming for Long Beach Cinematheque, is leading the course. He moved to Long Beach from Hollywood and brought with him a grand passion for the documentary and all things cinematic.The unofficial ambassador for cinema in Long Beach, Mr. Crow has high hopes for resurrecting the Long Beach Film Festival. He formed the Long Beach Cinematheque to connect with people who would support a vibrant film scene in Long Beach. We are fortunate to have classroom space next door, and Mr. Crow graciously agreed to teach.
Mr. Crow says the goals of the class are to not only examine and enjoy the films, but to learn to identify and understand the ways filmmakers approach the subjects of their film. On tap for viewing in the class are "Waltz with Bashir," "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters," "Fast, Cheap & Out of Control," and two foreign shorts, the British Oscar winner, "The War Game" and Alain Renais' French short, "Night and Fog."
Here's how Mr. Crow explains the difference between a straight narrative film and a documentary: the organic nature of the documentary brings us real life, mostly unscripted, a film where anything can happen. Straight narrative films might also represent real life, but Mr. Crow emphasizes that documentaries are often extremely compelling, eye-opening and even infuriating at times. All this is inherent when we experience real-life stories. Reality TV shows have mass appeal. But TV shows often titillate and sensationalize real-life situations and are usually scripted.
With his background in the art of cinema, it is exciting to have Logan Crow leading this new course. He will also teach a class in the spring session, International Lens - 8 Foreign Films, about the art of cinema. These new classes offer our OLLI exposure in the downtown Long Beach area and give us the opportunity to be part of a campus/community partnership.
-- submitted by Thelma Teitel, OLLI at CSU Long Beach
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Meet the New OLLI DIrector at University of Illinois
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 | (L to R) New OLLI at University of Illinois Director Chris Catanzarite
and Former Director Kathleen Holden. |
She was watching the Johnny Carson show and found herself enthralled by his guest -- someone with a Master's Degree in Popular Culture. Learning that there was such an academic field (definitely a new one in the '80s) changed the trajectory of her life and ultimately brought Chris Catanzarite to Illinois and OLLI. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Chris had a love of theater, film and "organizing things" from an early age. She thought she might be an actress and, after two years at Allegheny College, switched to the University of Pittsburgh where she got a degree in Film Studies, English and Theater. She changed her focus when she learned that she loved writing about films more than being in them and thought about becoming a film critic. Fate, however, took her to Washington, D.C. after college, where she worked as associate director of meetings and membership for the Association of General Merchandise Chains, a retail-oriented international trade association. Her "organizing things" skill surfaced as she planned and managed annual conventions and educational conferences in cities all over the country. Interacting with so many different people and supervising the logistics of complex events was stimulating and great fun -- until that fateful night watching Johnny Carson. More . . . click to read the full article.: profile written by OLLI member Cecile Steinberg, photo by OLLI Community Outreach Specialist Janet Summers. |
Boise State OLLI Celebrates 10 Years by Establishing Faculty Grants
|  From Ellie McKinnon, Director of the Boise State Osher Institute: "We are celebrating our 10th anniversary as a lifelong learning institute by emulating the example of the generous Bernard Osher. Members, through donations ranging from $10 to $500, have created a $5000 faculty research grant for our University faculty. While it is certainly not a lot of money, we anticipate it will help one or two underfunded projects get underway. A committee from our Institute Advisory board will review all applications and award the grant We have made one stipulation -- the recipient must present to the Osher Institute about their research/project following the grant year. Ours is a program that uses mostly current university faculty as Osher Institute instructors, so continuing awareness of the Institute makes it easier for us to identify and approach faculty who could become presenters for the Institute in the future. We are hoping that this grant will become something the Institute members will want to foster and provide every year."
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Rutgers University OLLI Director Selected for Advisory Role
|  Marvin Schlaffer, Director of the Rutgers University OLLI (NJ) was recently selected by the University President to serve on the new Faculty and Staff Advisory Council that will work closely with the Vice President for Faculty and Staff Resources to create and implement programs and services to enhance the connection between Rutgers and its retired faculty and staff. This is a big deal, and Marvin says this is a big "WOW!" for him. Congratulations are due.
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Nominations for 2012 Purpose Prize Are Open Until March 22
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A reminder that nominations for the 2012 Purpose Prize are open, deadline March 22. For more information and to nominate, visit the Encore Careers website. There are brief videos of the 2011 winners on the site if you have a moment to view one or two -- they are quite an amazing bunch of people willing to go the extra mile.
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2012 Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Contest
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The EPA Aging Initiative announced that the 2012 Rachel Carson Sense of Wonder Contest will focus on water -- this is the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. The EPA is partnering with Generations United, the Dance Exchange, Rachel Carson Council and the National Center for Creative Aging. Contest rules can be found here. Entries must be from a team of two or more people -- at least one younger person and one older person.
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Planning Group Travel Overseas
|  Kali has had several questions lately from OLLI Directors looking for travel companies that have managed successful overseas trips with OLLI groups. As you know, the OLLI National Resource Center does not endorse particular companies but will put a link in the travel section of the NRC website for companies that have a track record of success with OLLIs or LLIs. Let the NRC know if you have had a good (or bad) experience so other OLLIs can be informed.
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May is Older Americans Month
| | May is Older Americans Month. This year's theme is Never Too Old to Play. With this theme, the Administration on Aging encourages older Americans to stay engaged, active and involved in their own lives and in their communities. OLLI members don't usually need much encouragement to have a good time, but you might want to consider a May activity to honor the month, a favorite in the Pagan calendar for raucous celebration. |
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