NRC OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute

National Resource Center

for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes Newsletter

November 2013
In This Issue
Greetings from Kali
OLLIs -- Toot Your Horns!
Save the Date! OLLI National Conference
Article Headline
Memoirs in the Mountains
OLLI at UNC Asheville
Osher Steel Drum Band
Sweatshirt Day!
Distinguished Lecture Series at UC San Diego
OLLI at Bradley members cope with Tornado Damage
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Greetings from Kali 

   
News is still coming in from the area around Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.  The campus was not hit by the recent tornado, but we heard from the OLLI director there that some 300 OLLI members that live in the area of Washington, one of the towns that was devastated by the storm.  Check the OLLIs in the News section below for information from the university. 

On a lighter note, the November newsletter is packed with articles and interesting opportunities.  It is hard to believe that fall semester is already over for many of you and plans for winter and spring are now well afoot.  Time flies when you are having fun and changing lives.

Best Regards,
Kali  


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OLLIs -- Toot Your Horns!
 

Toot your horn! Does your OLLI have news that you are proud of and would like to share with the network? The NRC newsletter is looking for articles about those  
special happenings that you know will inspire and excite others. So, keep the network newsletter in mind as a place to "toot your horn!"

If you have a story to share, please send it (with photos if possible) to Fran or Anne at the National Resource Center.
 

Save the Date! OLLI National Conference  
  
 
We are pleased to announce the dates and location for the 2014 OLLI National Conference. The gathering will be held at the Park Hyatt Aviara, Carlsbad, CA from April 28-30, 2014. More information will follow on session proposal requests, programming, schedules, and many, many more details! Please do not hesitate to contact Fran Myers if you have any questions.
 
 

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Memoirs in the Mountains in Beautiful Colorado

 

The hills were alive with the sound of laughter as aspiring memoirists gathered in Winter Park, Colorado in late August for the annual Memoirs in the Mountains weekend. Twenty-five participants from all three OLLI Metro Denver groups shared not only spirited conversation but also amazing writing that appeared from the recesses of memory, brought to life by prompts, the tales of others and a little bit of magic. Great food, a gathering by the stream for wine and cheese, storytelling and animated conversation rounded out the time together.   

OLLI West @ the University of Denver 'Memoirs in the Mountains'

 

The two facilitators, OLLI Kirsten Morgan and Linda Ropes, created user-friendly, non-threatening sessions designed to encourage both beginners in the genre and those more experienced with everyone inspiring others as the weekend unfolded. In small groups, writers mined decades for memories and then played with possibility as they discovered a variety of ways to bring them to life. Each session was punctuated with whoops of laughter and many elicited a few tears but all inspired anecdotes and details long tucked away. All writers left the weekend with a satchel full of stories, both completed and just begun, knowing they were prepared to continue the process on their own.

     
Submitted by -  Karen Thorne, OLLI at University of Denver
 

OLLI at UNC Asheville celebrates 25 years  of Lifelong Learning   
 
    
 Presenters: Anne Ponder, Ron Manheimer, Kali Lightfoot, Jim Lenburg, Dave Brown, Catherine Frank)

Throughout September, OLLI at UNC Asheville celebrated 25 years as a program beginning in 1988 as the NC Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR) and 10 years in our building, the Reuter Center.  Kali Lightfoot helped us to celebrate and look forward by visiting and having dinner with the OLLI staff, made remarks at an elegant reception (where OLLI Steering Council chair Jim Lenburg served as master of ceremonies for a program that included UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder, former chancellor Dave Brown, NCCCR founding director Ron Manheimer, and current director Catherine Frank), met with our steering council, and our diversity task force.  The OLLI marketing committee under the leadership of Judy LaMée and Kirk Borland produced a commemorative booklet that tells our story, and we toasted the membership with cake, punch and new OLLI at UNC Asheville lanyards.  

 

Now we are getting back to the business of planning the 2014 Southern Regional Meeting for Lifelong Learning that we will be hosting July 30 - August 1, 2014. We hope to have calls for proposals ready soon!

 

Submitted by - Catherine Frank,  OLLI at UNC Asheville


Introducing the Osher Steel Drum Band of OLLI at Vanderbilt 

  

Osher Fall Kick Off 
The Osher Fall Kickoff at OLLI at Vanderbilt was an enormous success thanks to the leadership of President Bob Covington and the Osher Steel Drum Band!  
  
Submitted by -  Dottie Rager,  OLLI at Vanderbilt University
 
 

OLLI at UConn Sweatshirt Day!
 
The University of Connecticut (Waterbury, CT campus) 
and OLLI designed the shirts for its members. The comfy sweatshirts are worn with pride on OLLI Friday by our OLLI members! 
 
Submitted by - Rita Quinn, OLLI at University of Connecticut 
 
 

The Osher Distinguished Lecture Series at UC San Diego 
 

Speakers Dr. T. Hamid Al-Bayati and Richard Dreyfuss

Two prominent speakers highlighted an extraordinary spring 2013 quarter at the University of California San Diego OLLI. Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Dr. T. Hamid Al-Bayati, addressed an unusual Saturday meeting on "Iraq's Journey from Dictatorship to Democracy." His presentation was recorded by UCSD-TV for worldwide presentation.

This lecture was followed, two weeks later, by a conversation with film star Richard Dreyfuss, founder and president of The Dreyfuss Initiative (TDI), a nonprofit corporation dedicated to renewing and enhancing the teaching of civics in schools. This presentation, too, was recorded by UCSD-TV and is available internationally. 
 
 
Submitted by - Barbara Leondar - OLLI at University of California San Diego  
 
 



Members of OLLI at Bradley University cope with Tornado Damage  

 
              
 
All members and staff of the OLLI network send their thoughts to OLLI at Bradley University members and staff following the devastating tornado that struck this weekend. Michelle Riggio, Program Director of OLLI at Bradley, has posted the following description of the tornado as it was experienced by members John and Sharon Amdall. Michelle continues to work hard to gather news of other OLLI members who lived in the affected areas.  
 
Please visit the Bradley University's Tornado Relief web page for updates and for a list of ways that you can help. In addition, you can also visit the OLLI at Bradley website for news.
 
 

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A Course Resource for Film Buffs: "The Directors" Series  
 
  

If your OLLI offers a film course, or would like to develop one, here is a resource that will let students look behind the screen to see how the magic is made. 
 

Bobbi Alpert, from Chilmark Companies, which is interested in making this material available to lifelong learners, sent us the following description: "Our new series, 'The Directors,' focuses on 91 major directors, from Robert Altman to Edward Zwick, in 91 one-hour episodes, each about a single director. Straight talk - and an unprecedented number of clips - from masters like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, George Lucas, Clint Eastwood, Nora Ephron, Tim Burton...illuminate each director's distinctive vision and work. They discuss their creative choices, their careers and their influences. And the inside scoop on Hollywood."   

Click here to learn more and find Bobbi's contact information. 

 
Submitted by - Kali Lightfoot, National Resource Center

 

 

Intriguing Question

 
              
This question was spotted in a recent OLLI at the University of Illinois newsletter:  The question surveyed was "What TV show do you enjoy watching?" The top 3 most-watched were: 
1.  Big Bang Theory
2.  Downton Abbey
3. A tie between Breaking Bad and Masterpiece Theater
 
TOOT YOUR HORN: Image information: