In This Issue

 Course Database

Click the icon to like OLLI on  Facebook

We had a very energetic and orderly first week of classes for College for Seniors, and the staff is grateful to have our members back in the building every day.  This week we had member number 2000 join our organization for the 2013-14 year.  While passing this sort of landmark is satisfying, we work every day to make sure that we maintain our sense of community as we grow.

Please remember that the OLLI office and the Reuter Center will be closed tomorrow, Monday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We hope that you will take the opportunity to attend some of the lectures planned on campus next week (and described in this newsletter) as a way to understand the evolving issue of race in the US.

Finally, we have some bittersweet news to pass along. Anne Ponder will be retiring as chancellor of UNC Asheville on July 31, 2014.  Chancellor Ponder has had a 37-year career in higher education, serving for ten years as president of Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire and for nine years as chancellor at UNC Asheville.  All of you here at OLLI will understand that she is at a time in her life where she is looking for greater flexibility; it's hard to imagine the 24/7 responsibility of being in charge of a university. Chancellor Ponder plans to continue to play a role at the national level in issues of higher education. Click here to read more about Chancellor Ponder's career and retirement. I hope that at some point she finds time to return to the classroom by teaching a course here at OLLI.  The university as a whole and OLL in particular have benefited from her careful and strategic leadership in challenging times, and we wish her the best in this next phase of her life.

OLLI will hold an advance care planning workshop Thursday, February 13, 7 pm at the Reuter Center.  The workshop will feature a panel whose members are experienced in addressing end-of-life issues. Discussion will include communicating your treatment wishes to loved ones and to medical personnel, ethical and legal issues, and the uses of advance directives.
Ample time will be reserved for questions. Assistance will be provided for anyone wishing to complete a legally valid advance directive, including the notarization required in North Carolina, using the Five Wishes format. 

Click here to view a Five Wishes brochure

Free and open to the public.

Tickets this year are only $15!

The Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre is excited to announce the second annual "Hearts for SART" fundraiser! You are invited to join us at the beautifully renovated Masonic Temple 80 Broadway, in downtown Asheville on Friday, February 14th at 7:00 pm. We are offering a decadent buffet of desserts and beverages, desirable raffle prizes, and a diorama of silent auction items from Asheville artisans and businesses.

The evening will feature actor, Jon Menick, a recent guest star on the hit TV series "Nashville" and the soon-to-be-released movies "Endless Love" and "Captive", and Mary McGahren, independent film, TV and theater actress. You won't want to miss the chemistry of this talented duo presenting selections from the Broadway play "Love Letters."

 

Enjoy this outstanding evening for only $15.00/person! Great sweets, one-of-kind shopping, and entertainment to delight you on Valentines Day! Click here to visit the SART website for more information.