Osher News - October 2018

October 2018

Member Survey Coming Soon

In 2014 and 2016, the Osher Institute collaborated with the Osher National Resource Center to conduct a survey of our members. We were one of nine Osher Institutes that participated. Over 600 of you responded and we learned so much! For example, we learned that two thirds of our members are women and that our average age is 65-69. The information gathered from this survey was instrumental in helping manage our growth, expand curriculum, and better serve you.

Now that two years have passed, we want to repeat the survey. This October, again in partnership with the Osher National Resource Center at Northwestern University, we will conduct the survey online for approximately a three-week period. For those unable to take the survey online, paper copies will be available in the Osher office.

Current members will be receiving an email in the coming days with instructions on how to access the survey. If you have any questions, please contact Osher director, Rosemary Reinhardt, at (208) 426-2047 or rosemaryreinhardt@boisestate.edu.

Farewell and Thank You, Osher!

In August, I made the hard decision to resign as director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. It has been a privilege, not to mention great fun, to lead the Osher Institute for the past six years and I will miss you all very much.

Thank you for your participation, sophisticated curiosity, and ideas which helped to keep me and the Curriculum Committee volunteers motivated to provide you with a growing list of interesting offerings each semester. You all have helped to make possible some wonderful accomplishments for the Institute such as significant increases in membership and program offerings and the establishment of The Excellence Fund, our annual sustainable fundraising program. All this helped us to secure a second $1 Million Endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation in 2016.

As much as I hate to leave, it gives me comfort to know that the next director will inherit a supportive advisory board, led by Ben Simko, and an enthusiastic and capable staff in Jamie Lundergreen, Holly Goldgrabe, and Mitchel Crocker, our part-time student office assistant. I appreciate your support of them during the transition.

We are putting the finishing touches on the spring 2019 catalog and I think you will enjoy the forthcoming line-up. The search is underway for my replacement and I am sure the next director will build on the success of the past six years and take the Institute to new heights. I will be here through October 26.

It is really difficult to say goodbye. Serving as your director has been wonderful for me both personally and professionally, and I will miss working on your behalf.

Sincerely,

Rosemary

Spring 2019 Catalog Coming in November

Programming is in effect for the spring 2019 semester! Once again, we have worked hard to provide a wide array of stimulating offerings to pique your curiosity. Online and paper registration for the spring semester will open on Tuesday, December 4, 8 a.m., and phone registration will open on Wednesday, December 5, 8 a.m.

Our volunteer curriculum committees and the staff have been working hard these past few months to provide a robust list of options to satisfy your intellectual hunger. Thank you to our Curriculum Track chairs, Barbara Olic-Hamilton, Chuck Folkner, Sheri Robison, and Merilee Marsh, for leading our committee meetings and helping find expert instructors. We also thank you, our members, for your suggestions which help determine curriculum. We hope you like what you see.

Some highlights this spring include lectures covering diverse topics including virtual and augmented reality and a review of the 2018 Idaho elections. Short courses will feature subjects such as Long-billed Curlews, bitcoin and blockchain, and the British Empire, to name a few. Seminars and workshops will include a book discussion and writing and painting workshops.

Thank you in advance for your participation and support of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University.

Update Your Information

Have you moved or changed email addresses lately? Make sure you receive your spring 2019 catalog and important emails by updating your information with the Osher office. Email osher@boisestate.edu or call us at (208) 426-6554 to make changes.

"China Between 1936 and 1956" Online Course

There is still time to register for the online offering of Dr. Shelton Woods' course, "China Between 1936 and 1956." Although Dr. Woods is unable to provide an in-person repeat of this sold-out course, he has graciously pre-recorded all of his course content that will be available to access online.

For a $20 fee, this new offering provides online access to video recordings of the course content starting on October 23. By registering, you will receive a link to a password protected web page that houses the videos. Videos will be available for viewing on your computer, phone, or tablet, at your leisure, for 4 weeks.

Please Note: the videos will be recordings of Dr. Woods' presentation slides with his narration of the course content. They are not live recordings of the in-person course, but they cover the same material that will be presented in the classroom.

Visit the Osher Registration Website to register online and pay the $20 fee. You can also register by phone by calling Customer Services at (208) 426-1709.

Yellowstone Info Session

There is still space available on our trip with Road Scholar to Yellowstone National Park!

If you are interested in this trip but want more information before registering, an information session and conference call with a representative from Road Scholar will be held on Thursday, October 18, at 2:00 p.m. in the Yanke Building. We will discuss the trip itinerary and answer any questions you may have.

For members who are already enrolled in this trip, we will hold a meeting to discuss trip logistics at a later date.

Click here to view the "Best of Yellowstone" flyer.

Thank You, September Volunteers

Thank you to our volunteers for helping us kick off this semester! Thank you to Brent and Nancy Fricke, Sharon DeLong, Bobbie Johnson, Mary Lou Taylor, Anita Tanner, Mark Eubank, Paul and Chris Werner, Kathy Horton, Mickey Vogt, Ed Bracht, Marge Butterfield, Janet Davis, Deanna Combs, Mary Lou Kinney, David Currie, Ron Hodge, Winston Stokes, Steve and Pam Ahrens, Gary Wyke, Betty Hayzlett, and Jim and Christine Mariman for serving as greeters.

Special thanks to Rich Howard for assisting with our special event, "Peregrine Fund and Archives of Falconry Tour."

Thank you, too, to Tama Everett, Suzanne Radeke, Sally Merz, Arlene Hayward, and Chris Werner for tending to our courtyard garden this month.

ValleyRide Bus Passes Available

Do you use ValleyRide buses to get around town? Boise State University's Transportation and Parking Services provided the Osher Institute with a limited number of bus stickers to give away to our members on a first-come-first-served basis. Bring your current name badge to the Osher office to get your sticker!

Please Note: A valid Osher name badge with a bus sticker must be shown to the bus driver to receive a free bus ride. Stickers need to be placed on the bottom left corner of your name badge.

In the Spotlight

Every month, Osher News highlights offerings that still have space available for members to enroll. The following offerings take place during the month of October:

Contemporary Germany: Culture, Politics, and Current Challenges

This course will provide a focused look at one of the most influential members of the European Union. We will explore German cultural traditions, with an emphasis on similarities and differences from American customs, and the German political system and current challenges, including the refugee crisis, that have caused much discussion within Germany and have put Germany in the limelight of international headlines in recent years. We will also consider pertinent topics like the German education system, healthcare, and cultural remnants of the Berlin Wall.

Presenter: Dr. Heike Henderson, Professor of German and Associate Chair of the Department of World Languages, Boise State University

Dates and times: Mon., Oct. 8, 15, and 22, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Cost: $35

Making Ecosystems Healthy Again

Why do we need parasites? What would happen if we finally got rid of mosquitoes? Much has been learned in recent years about how species interact in ecosystems, and we can now begin to answer questions such as these. This course will discuss recent ideas on how species interact to promote healthy ecosystems. Learn about the roles of ecosystem engineers, keystone species, mutualists, facilitators, competitors, predators, parasites, decomposers, and others, to arrive at a better understanding of how healthy ecosystems function and how we can make our ecosystems healthy again. This information will be directly applied to local ecosystems and natural resource issues.

Presenter: Dr. Eric Yensen, Professor Emeritus of Biology, The College of Idaho

Date: Thu., Oct. 4, 11, 18, and 25,

10 a.m.-noon

Cost: $45

Visit the Osher Registration Website to register online. You can also register by phone by calling Customer Services at (208) 426-1709.

Free Learning Opportunities on Campus

35th Annual Frank Church Conference on Public Affairs

Boise State University and the Frank Church Institute is pleased to host the 35th annual Frank Church Conference on Public Affairs on Thursday, October 18. It will take place in the in the Student Union Building Simplot Ballroom from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

The theme for this years' conference is "Global Struggle for Democracy" and will feature keynote speaker Kenneth Wollack, former President of the National Democratic Institute. Other speakers include David Salvo, Deputy Director, Alliance for Securing Democracy, German Marshall Fund of the U.S.; Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Director, Transatlantic Security Program, Center for a New American Security; and Steven Feldstein, Frank and Bethine Church Chair of Public Affairs of Boise State's School of Public Service. Visit the Frank Church Institute website for a full list of speakers, Kenneth Wollack's biography, and to register for an optional, fee-based luncheon.

The conference is free and open to the public. Parking is available for free in the Lincoln Garage. For more information, please contact Gary Wenske, executive director of the Frank Church Institute, at garywenske@boisestate.edu.

"The Ese'Eja People of the Amazon: Connected by a Thread" Exhibit

Boise State Art and Humanities Institute Gallery invites you to the opening reception for its exhibition, "The Ese'Eja People of the Amazon: Connected by a Thread," on Thursday, October 18, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. in the Yanke Building. This exhibition will be on display during normal working hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., until February 1, 2019.

As Amazonia loses many of its indigenous cultures, their deep knowledge and wisdom of the interconnectedness of nature is also disappearing. The Ese’Eja, one of the few extant foraging societies of Peru, have been stewards of the lands in the Amazon basin for many generations. This exhibition tells their story in the hope of influencing public policy and empowering the Ese’Eja in determining their future. The Ese'Eja offer us a unique perspective on the complex political, environmental, and social issues at play in contemporary Peru, and indeed, throughout the world.

Visit Ese'Eja.org to learn more about this exhibit and the Ese'Eja tribe. This exhibit was made possible by the generous gift from Chris Davidson and Sharon Christoph.

MFA Reading Series

The Boise State MFA program in Creative Writing will host poetry readings on three consecutive Friday evenings, beginning on October 12 at MING Studios, 420 S. 6th St. in Boise. All events are free and open to the public; no tickets are required.

Friday, October 12, 7:30 p.m.: C. Violet Eaton and Sara Nicholson

Friday, October 19, 7:30 p.m.: Tom Pickard

Friday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.: Sandra Simmonds

Also included in the MFA Reading Series is a reading with Elizabeth Gutting, Osher presenter and Program Coordinator for the MFA program in Creative Writing. Her reading will take place on Monday, October 8, from 8-10 p.m. at Txikiteo, 1401 W. Idaho St., Boise.

An Evening with Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

Boise State University is pleased to host an evening with Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., former publisher of The New York Times, on Friday, October 26, at 7 p.m. in Taco Bell Arena. This talk will be moderated by former Boise State President Bob Kustra and will feature questions from Boise State students, faculty, and the greater Boise community.

Sulzberger led The Times for 25 years, during which time he presided over the digital and international expansion of the news organization. Today, The Times has more readers and subscribers than any point in its 167-year history, with an average monthly audience of more than 130 million people and 3.5 million paid subscriptions. Under his leadership, The Times won 61 Pulitzer Prizes, doubling the paper’s total Pulitzer count. Sulzberger's journalism career began at The Raleigh, N.C., Times in 1974. He moved to the Associated Press London bureau two years later. He joined The Times, the newspaper his family has controlled since 1896, as a correspondent in the Washington bureau in 1978. Sulzberger remains the chairman of the board of The New York Times Company. His son A.G. Sulzberger succeeded him as publisher.

This event is free and open to the public. Free parking will be available in the West Stadium Lot between Taco Bell Arena and the football field.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University

Phone: (208) 426-OLLI (6554)

Email: osher@boisestate.edu

Website: osher.boisestate.edu

Boise State's Osher Institute operates within the Division of Extended Studies. It is a membership-based lifelong learning program offering non-credit, college-level short courses, lectures, and unique learning opportunities for intellectually curious adults over age 50.

Osher Institute Advisory Board

Chair: Ben Simko | Ralph Bild | Russ Centanni | Carol Delaney | Bae Emilson

Chuck Folkner | Susan Gibson | Dennis Hall | Merilee Marsh | Mike Merz

Virginia Rivers | Gary Robb | Sheri Robison | Nancy Roehrkasse

Osher Institute Staff

Director: Rosemary Reinhardt | Program Coordinator: Jamie Lundergreen

Assistant Program Coordinator: Holly Goldgrabe Student Office Assistant: Mitchell Crocker

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