In This Issue: A Message From the Director | February 2021 Programs | Call for Advisory Board Nominations | Share the Love on Valentine's Day | Check Your Schedule Online | February Virtual Social Hours | City Club Virtual Conversation | Osher-Sponsored Boise State Events | Other Upcoming Events | The Diane Moore Nature Center | Research Study Opportunity | Holiday Closure

Dear Osher Members,

This month, I invite you to our “Share the Love” campaign for February. Beyond chocolates and flowers, there are wonderful ways to demonstrate your care for others, whether a specific person, group, or organization. In this issue, we listed a few ideas for your consideration, but don’t let the list limit you. Consider running an errand for a friend, baking an item to deliver to a doorstep, or reaching out by phone to say hello to someone who may be isolated or far away. We would love to hear your ideas and plans at the next Osher Virtual Social Hour at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10.

Osher Institute spring programs are well underway, but don’t forget that you can still register for upcoming lectures or short courses. You may also use an Osher guest pass this semester to invite someone to attend a lecture (or one session of a course). Simply email us the name, email address, phone number, and mailing address of your guest, along with the program you wish to share with them. This is a great way to help us promote the Institute, but even more importantly, you will be sharing lifelong learning with others.

Be sure to visit the Osher website to view new items added to Osher on Demand. This is the resource site for links to Ted Talks, Osher programs shared by other Institutes, curated articles, and so much more. We've even added space to list members' favorite recipes, so send us your tried-and-true family recipe to add to this collection. (We also like to hear the story behind the recipe!)

My heartfelt thanks for your continued engagement with the Osher Institute.

Warm regards,

Dana

Dana Thorp Patterson, Director

Every month, Osher News highlights the programs that are available for enrollment.

The following presentations will be taking place in February:

Presenter: Robert Bailey, retired, Oregon Coastal Management, Department of Land Conservation and Board President of Elakha Alliance

Date and time: Tue., Feb. 2, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Paul Nelson, retired Senior Engineer, DRAM Research and Development, Micron Technology

Dates and times: Wed., Feb. 3 and 10, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: $25

Presenter: Kurt Orzeck, freelance writer, editor, and blogger

Date and time: Thu., Feb. 4, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: $45

Presenter: Jim Jones, JD, retired Chief Justice, Idaho Supreme Court

Date and time: Tue., Feb. 9, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Dr. Bob Hay, emeritus faculty and lecturer, Boise State University

Dates and times: Fri., Feb. 12, 19, 26, and Mar. 5, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: $45

Presenter: Dr. Roger Longbotham, retired, Microsoft Corporation

Date and time: Tue., Feb. 16, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Lance Thompson, president, Idaho Media Professionals

Date and time: Wed., Feb. 17, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Caveat Magister (Benjamin Wachs), author and founding member of Burning Man's Philosophical Center

Date and time: Mon., Feb. 22, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Dr. Jeff Kyong-McClain, Co-Director of the Confucius Institute, University of Idaho

Date and time: Mon., Feb. 22, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Alessandro Meregaglia, 2019 Osher Faculty Grant Recipient, librarian, and archivist, Albertsons Library, Boise State University

Date and time: Tue., Feb. 23, 10 a.m.-noon

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Dr. Dennis Jenkins, Senior Research Archaeologist, University of Oregon

Date and time: Tue., Feb. 23, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Jamie Whitlock, MD, retired chiropractor and Medicare educator

Date and time: Wed., Feb. 24, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Cost: Included with membership

Presenter: Mark Junkert, Executive Director, Opera Idaho

Dates and times: Thu., Feb. 25, Mar. 4, and 11, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Cost: $35

Visit the Osher registration site to sign up for courses and lectures.

If you have any questions about registering, please contact Customer Services at

(208) 426-1709.

The Osher Institute is now accepting applications for Advisory Board positions. The Advisory Board meets up to five times a year to advise and assist the Director in areas of programming, planning, finance, marketing, fundraising, member recruitment, and volunteer engagement.

Terms are three years, and Advisory Board members are encouraged to chair or serve on at least one committee. For more information about the Advisory Board and to read the bylaws, visit the Osher Advisory Board website.

If you would like to be considered for the Advisory Board, please complete the online Advisory Board application by Monday, March 1.

For questions about serving on the Advisory Board, contact Chair Merilee Marsh at merilee.marsh@gmail.com or Director Dana Thorp Patterson at (208) 426-2047 or dthorppatterson@boisestate.edu.

Like you, we share the love of lifelong learning.

Would you like to share the love with others?

Did you know you can check your schedule online at any time? On the Osher homepage, simply click on "Log In/Register Online" and follow these steps:

Under "Current Registrations," you will find

a list of everything for which you are enrolled.

Grab a beverage and join us at our bi-weekly Virtual Social Hour on the Zoom Meeting platform! It is a great way to engage with other Osher members, meet the staff, and stay connected during the semester.

Social hours will be held from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesdays, February 10 and 24. An email with the link to join will be sent the day before the meeting date.

If you need assistance joining the Zoom meeting, please contact the Osher office at

(208) 426-6554.

City Club of Boise has assembled an expert panel of physicians to discuss the state of COVID-19 in Idaho, prospects of the distribution of the vaccine, and return to normalcy. The virtual conversation will be held on Wednesday, February 17 at 12 p.m.

Panel experts will include Patrice Burgess, MD, of St. Alphonsus; Ted Epperly, MD, of Family Medicine Residency; Christine Hahn, MD, of Idaho Department of Health and Welfare; and James P. Souza, MD, of St. Luke's. The moderator for the event will be Mark Wheeler, Vice President for External Relations at Northwest Nazarene University.

For more information and to register for free, click here.

The Department of Physics at Boise State University invites you to join them for an online First Friday Astronomy Event.

Lisa Grossman, Astronomy Writer for Science News, will present "How to Talk so Science Journalists Will Listen."

This event will take place on Friday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m. Click this link to join the livestream: http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-science-journalists/. Once the livestream begins, participants can ask questions in the chat feature.

The first presentation in the Spring 2021 Idea of Nature Lecture Series will be held on Thursday, February 18 at 6 p.m.

Allan Wallach, Ralph H. Wark Professor of Art and Art History Emeritus, William and Mary College, will present "Thomas Cole and the Destruction of American Nature."

The lecture will be held virtually on Zoom. To register, email ideaofnature@boisestate.edu and a Zoom link will be emailed to you before the lecture.

The Frank Church Lecture Series presents the next Fridays With Frank session on

Friday, February 5 at 10 a.m. Frank Church Institute Board Member and past Boise State University President Bob Kustra will interview authors and journalists Jonathan and Charlotte Alter.

Click here to learn more information about this event, to register, and to access past events from the Fridays With Frank series.

Join Boise State University English Professor Cheryl Hindrichs on Zoom to discuss pandemic literature as part of the Pandemania! Reading in Isolation series. On Thursday, February 11 at 5 p.m., the topic will be Alessandro Manzoni's novel, The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi. This novel from 1827 is set in northern Italy during the Spanish occupation and plague of 1628.

If you would like to participate in this Zoom session, please email Professor Hindrichs at cherylhindrichs@boisestate.edu and provide your name and email address.

The Intermountain Bird Observatory (IBO) is seeking funds for its Diane Moore Nature Center legacy project to help establish education programs, interpretive signs, habitat management, and infrastructure.

The Nature Center is an outdoor place where everyone can explore and learn in a natural setting. University research, citizen science, and student programs at the Center will feature hands-on activities that stimulate learning and critical thinking, building the foundation for a lifetime of stewardship and outdoor activity.

To learn more about the Diane Moore Nature Center and ways to donate, click here.

Osher Institute members are invited to participate in a survey sponsored by the University of South Florida Stuttering Research Lab. Results will aid in the understanding and improvement of health-related quality of life in aging adults who stutter.

Click here to access the survey link.

on Monday, February 15.

Chair: Merilee Marsh | Cindy Anson | Ralph Bild | Russ Centanni

Director: Dana Thorp Patterson | Program Coordinator: Laura Mehlhaff

Communications Specialist: Jill Chmelko | Administrative Assistant: Jeremy Trent