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NCCCR Calendar & Announcements
Upcoming Schedule of Events
November 6, 2011 |
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Dear NCCCR members,
Let us take this opportunity to remind you that Daylight Savings Time began today, so we hope you remembered to turn back your clocks and enjoy that annual extra hour of sleep.
We are extending the availability of our Annual Member Survey until early next week. Our participation is running behind this time last year, and we would appreciate your taking the time to register your opinions about the running of the Center (if you have not already done so). Please click here to participate. We will report on the results at our Town Hall Meeting in the first part of 2012.
This newsletter includes information about opportunities to participate in UNC Asheville student projects and a reminder of UNC Asheville professor Bill Sabo's lecture about the current political landscape, to be held in the Manheimer Room on Friday at 11:30 am. Bill's lectures are usually "standing room only," so be sure to arrive early if you plan to attend.
These opportunities remind us of the many ways NCCCR is enriched by our location on the campus of North Carolina's public liberal arts university. During the UNC Asheville / UNC Chapel Hill basketball game next week, the opening game in UNC Asheville's new Kimmel Arena, the university will unveil a new ad campaign to promote its focus on producing students who are trained in various disciplines, who have had the opportunity in small classes to learn to analyze problems and come up with novel solutions.
Research indicated that many people who heard about the university didn't understand what kind of experience they would find at a "liberal arts" college. They confused "liberal arts" with liberal politics or with the arts narrowly defined as the visual and performing arts. The university has chosen the tagline "seriously creative" to suggest the complexity and challenge of the academic training students find here. The campaign focuses on showing the many ways that undergraduate students at UNC Asheville combine learning in science and the humanities to become people who can approach their work in the "real world" with knowledge, experience and creativity.
And of course we at the NC Center for Creative Retirement have since 1988 understood the value of the word "creative," a word and a state of mind that will continue to inform our approaches to creating new opportunities to thrive in life's second half through learning, leadership, service, and research as we move forward.
Have a great week,
Catherine Frank
Executive Director
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Veteran's Day Celebration
Friday, November 11, 4 pm, Manheimer Room
Join us to honor our veterans. The Reuter Center Singers will perform a medly of patriotic songs, Asheville High School ROTC will present the colors and a slideshowof veteran photographs will be shown.
Light refreshments will follow. |
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Center for Diversity
Offers Volunteer Opportunities
Interns for the Center for Diversity will be at the Reuter Center Monday, November 7 to promote volunteer opportunities for the coming year.
UNC Asheville will be hosting the exhibit "The Heroic Present: The Gypsy Photographs of Jan Yoors" from March 1 - 31, 2012.
During the week of March 5-9, the Center for Diversity will offer docent-led tours of the exhibit for students in grades 6-12.
For this exhibit the Center for Diversity would like to have volunteers who may assist with setting-up, helping with transportation of Holocaust survivors or with leading tours as docents. For those interested in being docents, there will be training provided.
The Center for Diversity in 2012 will also be promoting future events such as "Safe Schools for All: Bully Prevention" program taking place in January 2012 and ASCORE Youth Leadership which will focus on students at Asheville Middle School in the summer of 2012.
The Center for Diversity Education hopes that NCCCR members will assist with some of these events, so please stop by their table on Monday. If you won't be here on Monday or if you have any questions contact the student volunteer at rmpvicen@unca.edu.
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RESEARCH
PARTICIPANTS NEEDED
UNC Asheville Psyc 412 students are exploring how cognitive skills change over time in adults 18 and up, and are especially looking for research participants over age 40.
WHAT: Spend about 30-40 minutes in our lab watching videos, answering memory questions, etc
WHERE: Carmichael 215
WHEN: At a time convenient to you
PRIZES: Participants will be entered in a drawing to win one of three available gift cards ($25, $15, $10) to local restaurant Neo Burrito (located in W. Asheville & Biltmore Park)
To Sign Up: please email us at uncachildlab@gmail.com or call 828.251.6313
Thank you for supporting UNCA's Undergraduate Research. Preliminary results will be presented at the UGR Symposium at the end of the month.
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Judges and Volunteers Needed for November 19
UNC Asheville
Robot Tournament for Kids 
Here is an opportunity to see first-hand what the youth of our area are doing to improve their science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) abilities. On Saturday, November 19 UNC Asheville is hosting its first-ever official FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robot Tournament, a theme-based event for 8 through 14 year olds. Open to the public, this is an all-day affair with 36 teams participating. Teams will be running their robots through a series of challenges, presenting their research and talking about how they utilize good teamwork skills. This year's theme is entitled "Food Factor" and is based on many aspects of food safety.
We are looking for volunteers who are interested in being judges for the event. There are three categories of judging: Technical (about their robot), Teamwork/Core Values, and Research Project (the Food Factor). Don't worry. No prior judging experience is necessary, and training is provided. We are, however, particularly seeking individuals who have experience or knowledge in STEM issues. You will interact directly with the students, asking them questions and learning about what they achieved. We are also seeking half- or full-day general volunteers to help with signing teams in, directing traffic, manning information and food booths and more.
For information on how you can get involved, please visit http://www.rocwnc.org and click on "Get Involved", or call NCCCR member Neil Rosenberg at 828.484.4444. For more information about FIRST and the robot competitions they offer please visit http://www.usfirst.org.
Thanks, and hope you can join us -- you'll be glad you did!
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This Week
Nov 6-11, 2011
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Sunday, Nov 6, 11:30 am, SART ScriptFEST. For more information, click hereWednesday, Nov 9, 7 pm, f/32 Photography Group. For more information, click hereFriday, Nov 11, 11:30 am, Fab Friday ~ Political Landscape by Dr. Bill Sabo
Friday, Nov 11, 4 pm, Veterans Day Observation
Click here to visit the NCCCR calendar where you will find details on most of the above listed events and more.
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Next Week
Nov 13-19, 2011
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Sunday, Nov 13, 4 pm, UNC Chapel Hill vs UNC Asheville men's basketball game. Campus will be crowded on this date, and the Reuter Center will be closed. For more information, click here
Monday, Nov. 14, 4:30 - 6 pm, Y'All Come: Course and Teaching Idea Exchange. Please register by calling Anne Mock at 828-251-6198 or email at amock@unca.edu
Tuesday, Nov 15, 7 pm, Audubon Society meeting. For more information, click here
Wednesday, Nov 16, 6:30 pm, Blue Ridge Orchestra open rehearsal
Thursday, Nov 17, 4:15 pm, Asheville Chamber Music Series Pre-Concert lecture. For more information, click here
Friday, Nov 18, 3 pm, Symphony Talk with Daniel Meyer. For more information, click here
Friday, Nov 18, 7 pm, United Nations Association presentation. For more information, click here
Click here to visit the NCCCR calendar where you will find details on the above listed events and more.
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And Beyond...
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Sunday, Nov 20, 2:30 pm, Autumn Players Readers Theatre A Delicate Balance. For more information, click here
Thursday, Nov 24, Center closed for Thanksgiving holiday; reopens Monday, Nov 28, 8am.
Thursday, Dec 1, 8 am, Winter Term Registration,
Thursday, Dec 1, 7 pm, Asheville Astronomy Club. For more information, click here
Click here to visit the NCCCR calendar where you will find details on the above listed events and more.
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NCCCR's College for Seniors (CFS)
Curriculum Committee
By John Hammond
"A forty person committee that actually works!" Now that's something different! Every year the Curriculum Subcommittee of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement College for Seniors processes approximately three hundred proposals for courses to be offered during one of its four terms. If this seems like a daunting task, it is, and the task is made even more challenging by the fact that approximately 25% of all instructors are new in any given term. In addition, there is a very short time frame, about ten to twenty weeks, between when proposals are received and when the class schedule is "frozen," just prior to the printing of the schedule of classes for the upcoming term.
The CFS Curriculum Sub Committee, chaired by two chairpersons, is organized by topic groups or subject areas. There are eight topic groups and all of the course offerings are broken down into one of these groups, with these groups corresponding to the major headings in the CFS section of the NCCCR quarterly catalog. There are approximately four people appointed to each topic group, but some topic groups have more members than others, due to the number of proposals being reviewed by each topic area each term.
A critical role in bringing a course from the proposal stage to final go-ahead is that of the Shepherd. The Shepherd is responsible for assuring that each course proposal is complete and for interfacing with the instructor throughout the approval process. This role is especially important for new faculty. There were more than fifty new faculty this past academic year, and the Shepherd ensured their participation as the proposal review process moved forward.
This past academic year, nearly 1,700 CFS participants enrolled in one or more of 290 course offerings. Many of the most popular courses: History & Contemporary Issues; Philosophy, Religion & Psychology; and Language, Literature & Film Gender Studies routinely fill to capacity.
Susan Poole is the NCCCR staff member assigned to coordinate the activities of the College for Seniors Curriculum Subcommittee. To say that she is passionate about her work would be an understatement. She recently commented about her job: "I came out of retirement to apply for this position and I just can't wait to get here each day." With people like Susan working for the Curriculum Committee, things are bound to go right.
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Skeptical Inquirers' SIG
Friday, November 11, 1:30 pm
Joe Haun will present: "My personal life's journey of skepticism and where it's led me." The presentation will last about 30 minutes leaving a lot of time for questions, comments, and discussion.
Haun earned his doctorate in plant physiology from the University of Maryland and spent his professional career in corporate and government research and as a professor at Clemson University. He is known for the Haun scale, which quantifies daily plant growth. The search for knowledge urged on him by his parents, coupled with his training in the rigors of the scientific method, led him to a philosophical pursuit of the truths underlying both religious doctrine and the creative imagination.
Joe's recently published autobiography, UNBELIEVABLE! traces his journey from religion through enlightenment to a modern stance that places the scientific method and skepticism at the center of human advancement.
Our meeting starts at 1:30 pm and is scheduled for Room 207 at the Reuter Center. Check the bulletin board for any room changes.
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LOOK UP!
The Astronomy Club of Asheville
invites you to join the fun by looking up. There are three upcoming club public stargazes on
Nov. 18, and Dec. 30
To visit the club's website for more information on meetings and star gazes, click here
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 Y'All Come:
Course & Teaching Idea Exchange
November 14, 2011
4:30-6 pm
Consider teaching a course in our College for Seniors. Join us for Y'All Come! Course & Teaching Idea Exchange. Volunteer members of our Curriculum Committee and seasoned CFS instructors are on-hand to discuss course topics and to advise on course proposal preparation. Refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to Anne Mock, 828-251-6198 or
amock@unca.edu.
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Contact Information | | |
NC Center for Creative Retirement
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