OLLIs IN THE NEWS
OLLI at UNF Hosts National Issues Forum - OLLI at University of North Florida
Coming to OLLI is Coming Home for Member - OLLI at University of Nevada Reno
WWII Veteran Anthology Book - OLLI at Coastal Carolina University
The Benefit of Bees - OLLI at the University of Delaware
NRC UPDATES:
THE OLLI INSIDER:
QUICK LINKS:
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter

Greetings from the NRC    Apr 2016 15
In all our varied Osher Institute towns and cities, we welcome springtime. Spring, cheerfully named "mud season" by my Maine friends, can also be marked by cherry blossoms or blooming cacti elsewhere. Regardless of location or weather,
OLLI at George Mason University staff Susan Todenhoft_ Karen Nash and Alice Slayton Clark enjoy the sun on the first day of spring
OLLIs celebrate spring seasonally and academically as a time of renewal to explore new ideas, create new meaning and to celebrate and honor the past.
 
This month, the OLLI Newsletter shares examples of institutes trying new things. OLLI at University of North Florida shares their work with new facilitation and dialog processes. OLLI at Coastal Carolina University is combining memorable and personal stories into an anthology of a brave generation of veterans. Osher members at University of Delaware welcome spring while learning the importance of bees to ecosystems. And one member at University of Nevada, Reno shares her story of visiting her childhood home each day she comes to OLLI.
 
As we enter April, the National Resource Center finishes the annual cycle of collecting data from Osher Institutes across the country. The combined tally of all Institutes shows 154,351 Osher Institute members nationally. This represents a 6.5% growth spurt - even more than anticipated at mid-year. Like spring, we welcome the evidence of continued growth and renewal in our memberships.
 
Wishing you a super spring term,

 
Steve Thaxton, Executive Director
NRC for Osher Institutes 

 
OLLI at University of North Florida
OLLI at UNF Hosts National Issues Forum Institute's Dialogue
OLLI at UNF instructor Gregg Kaufman's six session course entitled "Deliberative Democracy: Learn to Become an Effective Forum Moderator" teaches OLLI students to ask probing questions, listen for underlying values, manage differences of opinion, record participant comm ents and facilitate a shift from sharing personal opinions to seeking common ground as a
collective. 

Nine OLLI student facilitators took the opportunity to apply learned principles convening a National Issues Forum Institute (NIFI) forum 
entitled "Making Ends Meet - How Should we Spread Prosperity and Improve Opportunity for All Americans?" Attendees were comprised of OLLI members and guests. Initial feedback indicates that all involved considered the class and the special hands-on learning session a great success.
 
The OLLI at UNF NIFI forum was among the first 100 in the nation. Results will be evaluated and reported to a gathering of policy makers and deliberative democracy practitioners in Washington, D.C. on May 4, 2016. Kaufman's class has value beyond that of convening citizens to make their voices heard. Student moderators will be able to apply their new found moderating skills in their family life as well as their residential, religious and cultural communities. OLLI at UNF is also exploring the portability of the concept to main campus in service to the university's traditional students. Inspired by OLLI at University of Dayton, OLLI at UNF will explore convening intergenerational programs centered on other NIFI issues.
 
Submitted by: Jeanette M. Toohey, Director, OLLI at the University of North Florida

OLLI at University of Nevada, Reno
Coming to OLLI is Coming Home for Member
Elizabeth Shay literally comes home - to the site of her childhood home - when she attends classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at University of Nevada, Reno. Ms. Shay was born on the actual site where the University's "Warren Nelson Building" stands. The building now housing the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is where her family's brick home once stood, and the place of her birth as her mother "couldn't quite make it" to the local hospital. Shay also remembers her family's business operating in the building next door, also owned by UNR, currently used as a storage building for furniture and equipment.

Click here for an article with more photos from the Reno Gazette Journal.

Submitted by: Shera Alberti-Annunzio, Assistant Director, OLLI at University of Nevada Reno

OLLI at Coastal Carolina University
WWII Veteran Anthology Book  
According to the Veteran's Administration, 697,806 of 16 million veterans, only
4%, who served in World War II are living today.

Osher Institute at Coastal Carolina University members taking part in their Memoir Writing class recently had the opportunity to be a part of a joint project with Brightwater, a retirement community in Myrtle Beach. Five individuals from the community and six OLLI students who served in the Great War have shared their stories in a book entitled "World War II: Veterans of Brightwater and their Stories."
 
As noted by Social Director Wendy Gatzke, "The book idea started from a conversation with Anne Commerton, one of our members and Darlene Eichler, who teaches the memoir class. They realized there were many veterans at Brightwater [and in OLLI] and that each of them had a story to share about their experiences. These men purchased our freedom with their service and we wanted to honor their contributions to this country."





OLLI Members Raymond "Ray" Del Sasso (left) and George W. Koskinen (right)






Submitted By : Karen Edgington, Director, Office of Executive Development and Continuing Education,  OLLI at Coastal Carolina University

  Osher Institute at University of Delaware
The Benefit of Bees
Instructor Dean Hoover explains the inner workings of the observation bee hive
Members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware in Lewes and Ocean View recently had the opportunity to view a working bee hive in a nearby retirement community. The field trip included not only tastings of honey, but also connected the outing with a recent course where they learned about all of the inner working of the life of a honey bee. According to volunteer instructor, Dean Hoover, bees are "valued for their honey, wax and their supreme ability to pollinate...students have learned about the life cycle of the bee, how they communicate, how they benefit humans by pollinating flowers, gardens and crops, and how beekeepers extract honey
from the beehives."
 
The course and subsequent trip inspired the Osher Institute members to form a special interest group planning to build their own working hive. 



NRC Updates


newstaff
Osher NRC 2016 Webinar Series

Mark your calendar for the next webinar which will be on April 20, 2016 beginning at 2:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Central/noon Mountain/11:00am Pacific/10:00am in Alaska and 9:00am in Hawaii. It is entitled: OLLI Travel
OLLI at University of Vermont members in Turkey
Programs

Whether traveling to exotic locations or experiencing a day trip across town, OLLI travel programs create experiences that are life enriching, brain stimulating, and culturally significant. Join us as Osher Institute Directors, Kim Beck, at University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Jo Brownlie, at Saginaw Valley State University and Tricia Inlow-Hatcher, at North Carolina State University share their varied expertise on topics such as generating revenue through travel, working with a travel committee, exploring a vendor selection process, trip themes, budgeting, as well as comparing/contrasting international, domestic, regional and local travel.  Register for the webinar online here .
 
If you have interest in being a presenter on any of the above topics, or have ideas for other topics, please contact Diane Venzera ( diane.venzera@northwestern.edu). 

  conferenceKen Burns to Deliver NEH Annual Jefferson Lecture in Humanities 
"The Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, established by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 1972, is the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities." For Osher Institutes, the Jefferson Lecture is a great opportunity to utilize NEH public programming as it is open for local members who would like to attend and is also streamed live online and archived so that OLLIs throughout the country can participate. 

Read more and find the link to register for the event on the NRC website.


The OLLI Insider


An Advice Column for Osher Institute Staff and Volunteers
dearolliDear Olli
Dear Olli,
As the volunteer chair for our fundraising committee, we've been talking about starting a Planned Giving campaign. Our staff director is intrigued too, but we missed the recent webinar the NRC organized on the topic. Can you share some basics to help get us going?
Sincerely, Considering


Dear Considering,
OLLI Director Rosemary Reinhardt, and Executive Director of Planned Giving Jennifer Neil, from Boise State University did an excellent job introducing the nuts and bolts of Planned Giving campaigns. They combined information from their experiences with their own campaigns, stories from other OLLIs, as well as plenty of sage advice. Their key takeaways were:
  • Can't Afford Not To - If you choose not to develop a planned giving program, you are saying NO to potential gifts
  • Keep Good Relationships -  The foundations of success are in working well with members, the board, University leadership and advancement offices
  • Utilize Campus Resources - Building a strong relationship with your university planned giving professional allows them to use their functional expertise on your behalf
  • Create Awareness -  It's not enough to have a program; make sure your members know about it and show them OLLI is worthy of their philanthropy
If you were unable to participate in the webinar, you can experience it now. The 2016 Webinar Series is archived on video for use by staff and volunteer leaders of all Osher Institutes. Each director has a password to access the Secure Login, where there is a category of "Webinars" that include links to video files of the previous presentations. Maybe this could be part of an upcoming committee meeting for you?
Good luck fundraising!
~Olli

Have a question for Olli? Please send it in care of Stacey Hart at the NRC:Stacey.Hart@Northwestern.edu  

OlliTraveler
Educational Travel Ideas from In and Outside the OLLI Network
The OLLI Traveler
Make 
sure to register for the April 20th Osher NRC webinar on travel programs (detailed description above).

OLLI at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Kotzebue: Fish Camp and Inupiat Culture
Experience a 4-day immersion in Inupiat culture near Kik-ik-tag-ruk (Kotzebue, Alaska) on the Arctic Circle. Local Elders and their families join us in subsistence harvesting of chum and silver salmon. Guests will participate in identifying, gathering and preparing medicinal plants. Field trips to town, cultural discussions, drumming and storytelling lessons, fishing, and tundra hiking with Inupiaq people fill our days. Be prepared to share rooms, use an outhouse, and forgo a daily shower.  This unique trip is open to OLLI members nationwide.   Click here for more information .
Dates: August 1-4, 2016

OLLI at University of Georgia
Andersonville National Historic Site Trip
Following his course on Civil War Prisons on April 4, Truett Godwin will lead an OLLI field trip to Andersonville on April 7 and 8 to visit the The Andersonville National Historic Site, which includes not only the original prison site, but also the Andersonville National Cemetery where many of the Civil War Prisoners are buried, and The National Prisoner of War Museum, honoring all American prisoners of war. People find visiting this National Historic Site a very worthwhile, though sobering, experience that illustrates one of the hidden costs of war. The tour will also include a stop in Andersonville to see the Henry Wirtz office and monument and to visit the Drummer Boy Museum.   Click here for more information.
Dates: April 7-8, 2016

OLLI at Santa Clara University
Old World Prague and the Blue Danube
This twelve day trip includes 8 nights aboard a private Grand Circle river ship. Begin your journey with a three night stay in Prague, Czech Republic with tours throughout the city, a castle visit and a trip to UNESCO World Heritage Site Cesky Krumlov. Once aboard your river cruise you will make visits to multiple cities in Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Click here for more information.  
Dates: April 6 - 19, 2017

Interesting Facts to Know and Talk About
didyouknowDid You Know...?
  • 73% of adults consider themselves lifelong learners.   
  • By 2021, the 50-plus age group is projected to drive more than half of US economic activity.  
  • Nationally, 70.1% of OLLI members are women and 29.9% are men. 

  Career Openings in the OLLI Network
jobboardJob Board
Executive Director of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Program Assistant 2, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Administrative Assistant, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Program Coordinator, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Is there a staff opening at your Osher Institute? Please send it to us at  oshernrc@northwestern.edu