A publication of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at MSU
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“Outstanding presentation, relevant, timely, great visual material, didn't waste words.”
“Thank you for sponsoring such excellent programs as this one!”
- Participants, Belgrade Community Library/ OLLI at MSU Event
“The topic is a crucial one, especially in this election year. I learned how to evaluate at least some of the advertising that I see or get in the mail.”
Course participant, Calling BS! Fake News and Questionable Science
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NEW! Snowmester Event:
Coffee with Ivan
December 3 and 17, January 14 and 28
10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute "OLLI" at MSU, Friends of MSU Library and the MSU Retiree Association are partnering to present this new online Snowmester course.
Jan Zauha, humanities and outreach librarian at the MSU Library, will lead an exploration of Ivan Doig's life and legacy. This special 'Snowmester' event will focus on two of Doig's most popular works, This House of Sky and The Bartender's Tale, will be equal parts biography and discussion. Using items from the Ivan Doig Archive housed in the MSU Library's Archives and Special Collections, Zauha will share unpublished documents, letters, photos and sounds to provide attendees with an insider's look at Doig's life and writing process.
Doig "created a body of work that helped shape our understanding of rural working-class life in the postwar American West." - New York Times
Read more about Doig's life in Montana and this special Snowmester event here.
This program is expected to fill quickly. It is open to OLLI at MSU members, MSU Retiree Association members and Friends of the MSU Library members. The cost is $50 per person.
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Upcoming Programs To Explore
With online programming, you can learn safely and conveniently, save time and fuel, and avoid dark snowy winter roads. Below is a sampling of our upcoming OLLI at MSU programs.
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Course - Religion and U.S. Presidents: A Century of Intrigue
Begins November 2, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (6 sessions)
Since the 1920s, religious currents in America have played an outsized role in shaping presidential politics. In this course, author and scholar Bruce Gourley will examine three dimensions of the relationship between religion and presidents from Calvin Coolidge to the present, including: the presidents’ religious beliefs; the impact of religion on elections and policies; and the impact of the presidents on American religion.
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Side Trip - Fascination and Fear of our Eight-Legged Friends
Monday, November 2, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Many people are afraid of spiders or feel disgust when they encounter one. But very few spiders are harmful to humans. In this talk, Laurie Kerzicnik, an arthropod diagnostician and associate extension specialist at Montana State University, will discuss the benefits of spiders, dispel misinformation and myths about spiders, and showcase some of Montana’s most encountered species. She will also discuss spider bites and the misdiagnoses of spider bites.
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Community Event - Public Land Business and Local Community: A National Wildlife Refuge Example
Thursday, November 5, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Located in Southwest Montana, north of the Continental Divide, the remote Centennial Valley consists of a high-elevation and nearly intact landscape of forest, sagebrush steppe, wet meadow and the largest wetland complex in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Bill West, who recently retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after 30 years of managing National Wildlife Refuges in Montana, will discuss how strategic partnerships can result in a thriving local economy as well as successful conservation efforts. This event is a partnership with Belgrade Community Library.
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Course - Measuring the Pulse of Yellowstone: The Untold Stories
Begins November 10, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (4 sessions)
Across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the National Park Service's (NPS) Greater Yellowstone Network is coordinating assessments of ecological health through collaborative, multi-agency monitoring and planning at park and regional spatial scales that address contemporary threats to parks. This course will highlight the importance of collaborative, cross-boundary strategies to connect parks, inventory and monitoring networks, and partnering agencies to leverage scientific connections to maximize their conservation impacts.
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Friday Forum - Wildfire in Montana: Past, Present and Future
Friday, November 13, 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
David McWethy, assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences in the College of Letters and Science at MSU, will discuss the factors responsible for increasing wildfire activity in the West and describe some of the future challenges presented by wildfire in Montana and the Gallatin Valley. Cathy Whitlock, Regents Professor in Earth Sciences at MSU, will provide introductory remarks. This program is in partnership with the Bozeman Public Library Foundation.
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Book Discussion Groups
Members are welcome to join any discussion group for one or all of the groups book selections. Log-in information for each group will be shared upon registration.
MSU Wonderlust Book Group, November 2, “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas - LINK
Mystery Book Discussion Group, November 19, “In a Dark, Dark Wood” by Ruth Ware - LINK
Non-fiction Book Discussion Group, November 16, “The Weather Machine; A Journey Inside the Forecast” by Andrew Blum - LINK
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Looking for Volunteers
History Buffs
Enjoy reading and writing? We are looking for an individual interested in researching Montana events and facts for this newsletter's “Montana, This Day in Time” column. If you are interested in helping research and write one paragraph per newsletter (two per month), see contact information below.
Virtual Ambassadors
With one semester of online learning under our belt, we are looking for a few additional virtual ambassadors (“VA”) to help with our Winter/Spring 2021 programs. Virtual Ambassadors are an essential ingredient for our successful online program delivery.
This is a great way to get to know and work one-on-one with our fantastic instructional team. If you have successfully attended and enjoyed our OLLI online Webex presentations or courses this semester and enjoy helping others, this may be a great role for you!
Commitment, requirements, and benefits: 2-3 one-hour training sessions, 1-2 Webex test runs per presenter, attend all agreed upon VA classes/programs, reliable internet connection and computer capabilities, and a positive ‘can do’ attitude. Virtual Ambassadors have the option of attending their hosted course at no cost.
Traveling or out of town this winter? Since we’re online, as long as you meet the commitments and requirements mentioned above, you can be a VA anywhere! We hope you may consider becoming a VA next semester.
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It is official!
MSU Wonderlust is now the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at MSU. For the past year, we have been mentioning this upcoming transition and are excited to announce the Montana Board of Regents officially approved this name change at their September meeting. As an OLLI, we join 123 other similar organizations across the nation, offering engaging and thought-provoking programs to an audience age 50 and better.
This support and national recognition is made possible thanks to the work and dedication of many volunteers throughout Wonderlust’s almost 20 year history. Though we share the OLLI name and generous benefactor with these other organizations, that is about all we have in common. As the saying goes, “To know one OLLI, is to know one OLLI.”
For a snapshot of other OLLIs around the nation, enjoy this very short video. Can you find OLLI at MSU amongst the others? https://vimeo.com/466372470.
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Osher lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at MSU, formerly MSU Wonderlust, is a program of MSU Academic Technology and Outreach that provides intellectually stimulating and enjoyable programs that foster lifelong learning and community engagement for individuals 50 and greater. There are no tests, no grades and no papers. OLLI at MSU offers opportunities for the pure joy of learning. Become a member or consider teaching for us.
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