In this Issue:
A Note from the Director | Farewell to our Advisory Board Chair | Welcome, Merilee Marsh | Fall Semester Membership Survey | Catalogs Coming Soon! | Registration for Fall 2020 | 2020-2021 Membership | Fall Offerings Online | Yanke Building Closed | Additional Changes | First Friday Astronomy Lecture
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Dear Osher members,
Welcome to the 2020-2021 academic year! Memberships for the upcoming year are valid through June 30, 2021 will be available for purchase on Monday, July 6, on the
Osher Registration Website
. Your membership dues support the year-long programming of the Institute as we strive to bring high quality presenters, new and diverse topics, and even new delivery methods.
This year, your membership dues include expanded access to new resources including livestream and recorded offerings available only to Osher Institute members, an option to register for a greatly-reduced annual subscription to
The Great Courses Plus
with your own individual login and account, and access to
Osher On Demand
, our new blog featuring additional online programs, articles, and videos of interest.
As we approach another semester, I want to encourage you to stay connected with us.
Follow the Osher Institute on Facebook
and consider joining our Virtual Social Hour for more information about registration and the upcoming fall semester. Our next Virtual Social Hour will be held on
Wednesday, July 15,
from
11 a.m.-noon
.
Sending warm regards to each of you!
Dana
Dana Thorp Patterson, Director
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Farewell to our Advisory Board Chair
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It is amazing to me that my two-year term as your Advisory Board chair is already coming to an end. With a sense of sadness but also of accomplishment, I bid the Board and all our members a farewell. These two years of service have had many surprises, setbacks but also growth and successes for our Institute. Together we have faced the recruitment and transition of a new Director for the Osher Institute. We have updated our strategic plan and Advisory Board bylaws and created a new Board Development Committee. The Institute is still fiscally very sound thanks in part to our members’ generous contributions to the Osher Excellence Fund. We have adapted to rapid growth of the membership and expanded our curriculum while maintaining the quality of our entire program. The Osher Institute at Boise State University is still recognized as one of the best among the 123 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes in the national network.
Oh, have I mentioned the global pandemic? We are all faced with loss, sacrifice and novel challenges while COVID-19 is spreading turmoil around the globe. Yes, even as we read this July newsletter, our Institute has demonstrated the resilience, creativity and technical savvy to adapt and survive.
Leadership is not about a lone effort. It is about the accomplishments of the team. It is about letting other great and dedicated people around you excel and shine. An Osher Advisory Board chair is only as good as the highly engaged and supportive Board, our dedicated committees, and our enthusiastic volunteers. But the true leaders of this organization are our outstanding professional staff. They make it all happen and we are along for the ride of lifelong learning as well as social enrichment.
Finally, it is with total confidence that I believe we will transition smoothly to our highly qualified new chair, Merilee Marsh. I see a brighter future for the Institute with Merilee’s leadership and the addition of talented new board members.
I want to thank you all for sharing this wonderful experience with me. Hope to see all of you in class soon and remember -
“Learn more, age less.”
Ben Simko
Past Chair, Osher Advisory Board
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It’s a privilege and an honor to be the incoming chair for Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s Advisory Board, following the knowledgeable leadership of outgoing chair Ben Simko. The board is a committed group of individuals with expertise in a variety of disciplines and diverse with their experiences and approaches. As board members, we learn from one another and appreciate the crucial role of the staff.
We know the Osher staff (Director Dana Thorp Patterson, Assistant Program Coordinator Holly Goldgrabe, and Administrative Assistant Jeremy Trent) is committed to the membership. Emails, Zoom-based conversations, and telephone calls explore issues important to members for the fall semester—from contacting presenters for schedule changes to monitoring Boise State University guidelines and safety precautions. With frequent communication, committee work continues on a virtual basis. To maintain connections and raise members’ spirits, the staff has set up bi-weekly social Zoom calls. As Osher members, we benefit from the positive and proactive actions of the staff.
As members of the community, each day we have opportunities to delve into topics and reassess our priorities. We learn about ourselves as we consider personal risk tolerance, gather information, and make decisions. Although we may stumble, we move forward step by step to study what we need to do to improve.
In the opening paragraph of
A Tale of Two Cities
, Charles Dickens wrote, “…(I)t was the epoch of incredulity….” We are living through our own epoch and it’s a lifelong learning experience. I welcome your comments, so we may learn from you.
Merilee Marsh
Incoming Chair, Osher Advisory Board
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Fall Semester Membership Survey
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The Osher Institute is a membership-driven organization and, as such, your thoughts about upcoming programs are of considerable value to us. In light of new health and safety concerns, we are interested in knowing what your plans and preferences are for the upcoming fall semester.
If you have not already completed this survey, we hope you will take a few minutes to share your thoughts.
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Thank you in advance for your participation!
This survey will close on Monday, July 6.
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The fall semester catalog will be mailed on July 14.
Can't wait to find it in your mailbox? The catalog will also be available to view on our website,
boisestate.edu/osher, on July 14.
Please note:
The Osher Institute office and the Yanke building will be closed to the public until further notice. If you would like another copy of the fall semester catalog, we are happy to mail you one. Please contact the Osher office at (208) 426-6554 or
osher@boisestate.edu
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Registration for Fall 2020
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REGISTRATION OPENS
Tuesday, August 4
Online registration opens the morning of August 4. We encourage you to log in to your account and register early in the morning. To register online, visit the
Osher Registration Website.
Online is the preferred method of registration.
You may register by paper or by phone only if you are unable to register online:
- Paper registration forms must be mailed to the Osher Institute at 220 E. Parkcenter Blvd., Boise, ID 83706. Envelopes containing paper registration forms will remain sealed and securely stored until registration opens on Tuesday, August 4. Since the Yanke building will be closed to the public until further notice, members may only submit paper forms by mail.
- Phone registration will open on Wednesday, August 5 (this is one day earlier than previous registration cycles). To phone in your registration, please call Customer Services at (208) 426-1709.
Keep an eye on your email for more detailed updates about the registration process.
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Membership and course fees
will remain at their current levels for the upcoming academic year. The only change to note is that we have moved to
one membership option
in order to streamline our reporting and record-keeping.
Membership fees are $70 and include:
- Membership valid for one academic year (July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021)
- Access to register for livestream and recorded offerings—some at no additional cost
- Subscription to the monthly e-newsletter
- (New!) Access to archived recordings of Osher Institute offerings
- (New!) A heavily discounted opportunity to access The Great Courses Plus for an entire calendar year
As a member, you will also be invited to all Osher Institute events and the monthly social hours as our guest.
Memberships for the upcoming academic year will be available to purchase on Monday, July 6, on the
Osher Registration Website
.
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Based on the preliminary results of our fall semester membership survey and guidance from Boise State University, we have decided to move our fall offerings online to protect our members, staff, and presenters. Members may choose between two modes of online offerings: livestream and recorded.
Livestream:
- View the offering on your home computer, tablet, or smartphone on the date and time listed in the offering’s description.
- Livestream offerings provide a real-time view of the presenter and their slides on the Zoom Webinar platform.
- A link to the Zoom Webinar will be emailed to members prior to the offering’s start date.
- Members may submit questions through the Zoom Webinar chat or Q&A feature.
- Registration for livestream offerings will close 7 days prior to the offering’s start date.
Recorded:
- This is a flexible option for members who want to view material on their own time.
- A link to the recorded offering will be emailed to members after the livestream offering takes place.
- Recorded offerings are available to view until the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2021).
You do not need a webcam, microphone, or special software to access online offerings—just an email address!
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If you have any questions about online offerings, please contact the Osher office at
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The Yanke building is closed to the public until further notice.
Members may visit the Yanke building and Osher Institute office on an appointment-only basis. You will be required to sign-in for contact tracing and wear a facial covering while in the building. To request an appointment, contact the Osher office at (208) 426-6554 or
osher@boisestate.edu.
For assistance with registration, cancellations, payments, and refunds, please call Customer Services at
(208) 426-1709.
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In addition to the aforementioned changes, the following have been adjusted for the fall 2020 semester:
- Osher Institute Scholarship benefits
- Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings
- Guest policy
- Cancellation and Refund Policy
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First Friday Astronomy Lecture
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The Department of Physics at Boise State University invites you to join them for an online First Friday Astronomy Lecture. Professor Katie Devine of The College of Idaho will present, "'What are these yellowballs?' How citizen scientists' curiosity led to a new catalog of star formation tracers."
This event will take place on
Friday, July 3, at 8:30 p.m. Click this link to join the livestream:
http://www.astrojack.com/ffa-yellowballs. Participants will be able to ask questions in the chat feature which will appear on the website once the livestream begins.
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Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University
Phone: (208) 426-OLLI (6554)
Email: osher@boisestate.edu
Website: boisestate.edu/osher
The Osher Institute at Boise State University operates within the Division of Extended Studies. It is a membership-based lifelong learning program offering non-credit, college-level offerings for intellectually curious adults over age 50.
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Osher Institute Advisory Board
Chair: Merilee Marsh
| Past Chair: Ben Simko | Cindy Anson | Ralph Bild | Russ Centanni
Bae Emilson | Chuck Folkner | Susan Gibson | Dennis Hall | Rod McLean | Celeste Miller
Sharon Moses | Rainey Pieters | Virginia Rivers | Chuck Robertson
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Osher Institute Staff
Director:
Dana Thorp Patterson |
Assistant Program Coordinator:
Holly Goldgrabe
Administrative Assistant:
Jeremy Trent
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